adventures in sport watching

2015 in numbers

Posted on December 31, 2015December 31, 2015 by bekswhoknits

6 books in ‘currently reading’ list
2 books in handbag (not on ‘currently reading’ list
7 books on bed side table (some are ‘currently reading’)
37 Books read.

15 levels on Fallout 4 completed
32 levels on Skyrim The Elder Scrolls completed
3 consoles I can play Dragon Age Inquisition on
5 Dragon Age Inquisition playthroughs created but not finished
1 playthrough of the Trespasser DLC completed
1 extra Dragon Age Inquisition playthrough created because I made bad Thedas-life choices
~~number redacted~~ shreiks resulting from Uncharted 2 having two Dragon Age voice actors in it.
~~number redacted~~ tears shed at the end of Mass Effect 3.
1 pair of N7 tights purchased
8 gold PS trophies, 47 silver and 277 bronze (all time – not just this year)
2020 xbox gamerscore
10 video games completed to credits (not including finishing dragon age inquisition on two different platforms because apparently that doesn’t count)

9 levels of German on Duolingo learnt

15 hours watching new Doctor Who
20 hours watching Peaky Blinders (twice)
2 days 21 hours watching 3rd Rock from the Sun (thanks netflix viewing history – i guess…..)
5 days 10 hours and 34 minutes spent watching Supernatural (with cats)

30 years on earth achieved

2 kittens became cats (look at how much Tina’s grown!)

~17 finished objects knitted or crocheted
2 months of not writing in my daily ‘good things’ journal which kept track of finished items
1 resolution to keep better track of projects next year.
1 Frankie diary to help keep that resolution

1 amazing awesome care package received
16 Christmas Cards sent along with various other care packages and letters throughout the year.

28 cuffs stamped (plus 1 wallet and 3 necklaces)
19 etsy sales
5 patterns published on Ravelry
1451 unique pattern downloads!!! (seriously that is awesome! Thanks so much guys!!)
~~actual amount redacted~~ skeins of yarn added to stash
9 skeins of yarn dyed

6014 spotify tracks listened to
104 songs added to my 2015 playlist

9 of my favourite selfies all with slightly different hair!!

Thanks for sticking around with me during 2015! See you all in 2016!

It’s the most wonderful time of the year

Posted on November 15, 2015 by bekswhoknits

It rolls around so quickly. All that build up in the shops and the media and its here before you know it.

Of course I’m talking about the Australian cricket season and the WACA test in particular.

It’s now 8 test matches in a row (live together) and the upgrade to members is once again worth it. Today was 31 which felt cool against yesterday’s 39 (that’s about 93 for you Fahrenheit Folks!) Being members means we have shade, an air conditioned bar and a choice of full strength beers.

I also bought a new cushion which has a handy handle to soften up the plastic chairs. However Tina-cat has decided is her new bed.

So while there has been a little knitting (when my fingers haven’t been sweating on the yarn) it’s been gift knitting so no spoilers.

It has been an enjoyable albeit sweaty few days though.

By the end of the first day I was finding more and more unique ways of being comfortable on plastic chairs.

A massive highlight was David Warner hitting a double century and catching up on with an old Twitter friend.

The second day we were in early and watched the team warm up and went past the classic WACA scoreboard. I felt for the scorers who spend all day inside it keeping us all updated.

Today (the third day) we were both feeling a little tired so we watched from the seats for a bit but then retreated to the deck chairs to watch it on the big screen. We ended with a cozy setup with the radio on, sitting on deck chairs and right next to the bar.

With the actual game looking rather evenly poised let’s see what Day 4 & 5 have in store! #cmonaussies!!

(For those wondering – my lipstick is Rimmel 16hr Provocalips in colourway 550 Play With Fire. I 100% recommend! It has mostly been flawless so far although beauty blogger I am not.)

Like a girl.

Posted on May 31, 2015 by bekswhoknits

I am a girl. I was born a girl and I identify as a girl.

Over the weekend there were a couple of notable events in the AFL.

The first involved Adam Goodes an indigenous spokesperson who made a statement on the weekend which as I’m not indigenous myself, I don’t feel qualified to comment on (except to mention a couple of tweets about how excited their kids got when seeing Adam Goodes seeing their tribal dance on TV which I thought was really cool – every kid should grow up seeing themselves in at least one person on TV.)

The second was Ollie Wines (who plays for my beloved Port Adelaide) making a statement at quarter time saying that “we’re playing like a bunch of girls.”

Firstly I want to say that I’m not offended by this. I don’t wake up on a Sunday morning, read the paper and wonder what to be offended about today. But I am frustrated and pissed off.

I hear this type of comment way too often to not be annoyed by it.

BEING A GIRL IS NOT A BAD THING!
And I continue to ponder how is being like a girl an insult?
So why, when watching a game of football does ‘oh you’re playing like a girl’ get said so often.

Mythbusters has proven that “throw like a girl” has no scientific merit.

I doubt there is a single category of thing where you could have everyone in the world in a row from best to worst and there would be a distinctive line between men and woman (and this who identify as neither).

I confronted a male friend about this last weekend and eventually said “if you use being a girl as an insult then we can’t be friends.”

Because we can’t. If you think that my gender is inferior to yours then no we can’t be friends. That’s a deal breaker to me.

But interestingly no one had ever called him on it before. No one had ever pointed out that by calling a football players lack of commitment ‘girly’ he was saying that being a girl was somehow worse than being a boy.

I love being a girl. Sometimes it sucks (eg finding the right hormonal birth control), but you know what? being a girl is awesome. And no worse than being a boy.

So stop saying ‘girl’ as though it’s an insult or somehow worse than being a boy. Because it’s not.

Cricket World Cup craft-along!!!

Posted on February 13, 2015 by bekswhoknits

In case you’ve been living under a rock (or somewhere other than a cricket playing nation), tomorrow begins six weeks of one day international cricket!!!!! And culminating with ~~Australia~~ the best country taking away the Cricket World Cup.

It’s set to be a cracking 6 weeks and it kicks off tomorrow with Australia v England at the MCG. And what goes hand in hand with cricket watching? ~~Cider~~ Crafting.

The Knit Before Wicket group on Ravelry has a Cricket World Cup craft-along.
1) the item(s) needs to be started during the World Cup
2) the item(s) need to be finished before the end of the World Cup
3) it has to be some way cricket related or themed.

Some of the projects that people are suggesting are just awesome! There’s plans for jumpers in Aussie colours, some Black kiwi socks, and even a designer who is making a cricket vest inspired cabled scarf.

Me? I received the 8th Doctor yarn from YarnvsZombies and it’s perfect!!!!! Not only from a Doctor Who perspective, but it’s green and gold with sparkly flecks.

So I shall be casting on a shawl tomorrow, while watching the cricket.
If anyone else wants to join in the fun look out for us on Ravelry, plus on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #CWCcraftalong.

Personally I just can’t wait to see what this becomes!!!!

Now where did I leave off?

Posted on January 5, 2015January 5, 2015 by bekswhoknits

I’ve been on holidays for a bit. Both from this blog’o’mine and in real life.

We rang in the new year in Melbourne making new friends, and celebrating after our first live Boxing Day test (which was a draw – boo – but still a pretty awesome experience).

Overall the trip was a bit of a mixed bag.
On the way over I read Amy Poehler’s book ‘Yes Please!’ which I thoroughly enjoyed, but the oxygen tank needed to be called for the nervous flyer who looked like he was going to faint.
His new phone took brilliant photos of us and the view of the MCG from our hotel room, but only survived 5 days into the trip before the screen cracked and it became unusable.
The cricket was awesome, but there was a rain delay and it ended up in a draw (and Shaun Marsh dramatically run out on 99! We’re big Marsh supporters and want both the second-cousins to do well).
There was also a Max Walker sighting (the Max after which our Marron-Max was named) which excited the boyfriend no end!!!

The yarn store I had planned to visit was closed for the new years break.
BUT I stumbled on another one! which was was above one of the biggest book stores I’ve seen! Unfortunately we didn’t have time for me to explore both 😦
So I’m now a

So there was yarn, fireworks, cricket, cider, new friends, trams, shopping, and generally good times.

But it’s now back to work and ‘real life’.

Now bear with me while I bombard you with pictures of the wonderful time we had!!!!

Spot the dye job!

Posted on September 30, 2014 by bekswhoknits

The keenest of observers would have noticed I had bleach white hair on the day that my Golden Skein delivery arrived.

And my hair was bright pink and purple when my yarn from Ms Gusset arrived.

And then all of a sudden it changed to teal. I don’t actually have any teal yarn due to arrive any time soon (I don’t think so anyway – I haven’t made too many odd codeine related purchases).
It’s football related.

There were two live football games which I went to, both against a purple team. The second one was a knock-out final so there was a race against time to remove any trace of purple!

I also promised a friend that I would dye her hair teal just for the finals. So naturally at the pre-game function I became Beks the hair dresser and with the leftovers from the bottle I put streaks in two strangers hair and a beard.

Other than football watching and taking yarn selfies I also participated in my first Ravelry swap.
I sent a package of yarn and yarn related goodies to a randomly (but carefully) selected swapper, and in return I received a package from another swapper.

It was so much fun seeing all the awesome mail that was being sent all around the world. Since ravelry has been available through my work computer I have been spending some of my lunch breaks and sanity breaks in the forums. I’m still not sure that this is good or bad for productivity.
On one side looking at pretty yarn and pretty patterns and chatting with other ravelers about life the universe and knitting is a very good stress reliever and a good way to break up the day.
On the other side I’m not keeping up with my blog reading. A month ago I would have said that it’s also dangerous and I’ll waste too much time, but I’m barely getting a lunch break let alone wasting time. That’s when I’m at work and haven’t been deemed unfit by my doc.

Health wise this year has been rather shit. Fortunately I have the best GP who, as well as being a very thorough, qualified doctor with 4 daughters worth of personal experience, is a knitter and so every time I go and see her we have a quick chat about knitting before getting down to the medical stuff.

Still I’m feeling like a walking pharmacy, people sticking needles in my neck, the awful and not at all attractive hospital gowns, and quite frankly am sick of talking/whinging about it.

Although it has been a good excuse to go into Typo to buy a new neck support cushion. And while I was there I may have slipped and bought a cat purse, some chalkboard paint, a pompom maker, and an envelope template.
I was also sorely tempted by their Knit Your Own Cat Kit – even though I already have all of the supplies in the kit and have already knitted my own cat. That’s just what typo does to me.

Other achievements from September have included listening to 44 episodes of Welcome to Nightvale, completing 84% of Swordigo, and purchasing a giant Eeyore pillow pet.

Oh plus my parents bought a house, sold a house, moved house, Mum got older, the Boyfriend got older, we spent a long weekend in Bunbury with his family, I figured out how to make anklets, I sent off some surprise care parcels & postcards and got a surprise one in return, and you know did some knitting as well. Phew! I think I need a nap.

stuff and things and nonsense

Posted on April 24, 2014April 24, 2014 by bekswhoknits

There hasn’t really been much going on in the world of Bek lately.

Shoulder is still preventing quality knitting time.
Most of my long weekend was spent watching Greys Anatomy (or ugly crying because that show makes you care about people and then terrible things happen to them.)
I went to watch a football game and we won. That was pretty awesome.
I’ve made a few pairs of earrings.
It’s finally cold enough in the mornings for me to wear scarves again.
I dyed my hair.
I ate an orange that was from our tree. It was a little tart though.
My best friend is becoming a real-life teacher and is moving to the country (and hopefully she will eat a lot of peaches).

Ok so maybe stuff has been happening I’ve just been too busy to notice it.

SOTW – Lily of Laguna

Posted on March 19, 2014March 19, 2014 by bekswhoknits

It’s Australian sportsball time again!!!!

Which means all my non-Australian twitter followers get really confused and probably ignore me while I swear profusely and talk about things like marks, free kicks & holding the ball, use hashtags like #weareportadelaide and #shutupBT, and overuse exclamation points, with the end result being something like “Woooo! Cmon Westy!!!! What a goal!!!!! #weareportadelaide #4inaquarter”.

So my Teal, Black & White team (Port Adelaide) won their first game on Saturday (WOOOOOO!!!!!) against Carlton denying them the chance to sing their club song.

Naturally I’ve been singing it instead. But not the Carlton version, the Bing Crosby version which fortunately is the less racially offensive version.

For those who are utterly confused about why a group of grown men in short shorts are ~~singing~~ shouting Bing Crosby, please see this post from last year about a group of grown men in short shorts singing Ziegfeld Follies

Dull and uninspired. But not really

Posted on February 11, 2014February 11, 2014 by bekswhoknits

I feel like I haven’t done anything recently.
I’m feeling dull and uninspired about everything.

And then I looked at my camera roll and realised that even though I’ve been in shoulder related hibernation, I’ve been really busy.
In the past 7 days there was the annual superbowl party, the Perth Scorchers won the grand final, and laneway festival.

The time difference for the Super Bowl means that we’re watching the game while everyone else is on their way to work. Always a unique experience.

Then Perth won the Big Bash Final!

There was much wooing.

And then some more wooing at Laneway Festival.
HAIM rocked my socks off, plus frightened rabbits, unknown mortals orchestra, and chvrches made for an awesomesauce day.

And my crazy cat earrings went out of an excursion and of course there was some knitting. Every though my shoulder was a little worse for wear afterwoods.
Totally worth it.

Seriously how cool is this sandcastle!!!

Adventures in dyeing

Posted on October 28, 2013October 28, 2013 by bekswhoknits

I am counting the weekends down to when we move, but I am not putting my life on hold.
It is so frustrating to make things in a small space when you know there’s a craft room bigger than your lounge room just around the corner. But I can’t not make things.

So, inspired by Jesse, (aka oocha and wee pleasures) I dyed some yarn.

And it was so much fun.

I have researched dyeing methods before and wrote it off as something to do once I had more space and equipment. But the chalk legs tutorial that Jesse pointed to is by far the easiest. As I had purchased some Moda Vera Pure Wool in anticipation of dyeing at some point I was able to do everything with materials I already had.

I didn’t follow the instructions very well the first time, and added ALL THE COLOUR at once. Which once I figured out my mistake I immediately took it out and then plunged the wool into cold water. And then I realised my second mistake, pure wool doesn’t appreciate sudden changes in temperature. Fortunately not too much damage was done. It felted slightly but it still ran through my ball winder ok.

All of the dying was done using McCormick food colouring. It comes with a handy colour mixing chart on the back and so I mixed the right amount of drops together in a spoon and then plunged the spoon into the water (or dye bath as it is known!)

It’s all really basic and really a lot of fun. And if the colours all look really hideous together please don’t tell me. They all look rather fetching to my slightly colour-blind eyes.

I did try to be inspired by something, but I don’t think food colouring dye charts are sophisticated enough to capture the Adelaide Crows complex palette.