AN ODD SPREAD

So tonight I had a very interesting culinary experience. My friend has an Australian penpal (and by pen pal, I mean chat partner....everything is done via internet these days) and he sent her a small care package that contained a tube of Vegemite.

The only time I have ever heard of this mysterious Vegemite was when I would happen to be listening to the eighties band "Men At Work" who composed the very strange song "I Come From A Land Down Under", where the main character in the song apparently partakes in a Vegemite sandwich with a lady friend.

I come from a family where my parents told me to try things at least twice, once to experience it, and the second time to make sure I really loved it or hated it. So, I tried it. Um.....it's a bit strange. First of all, it's description on the actual tube says that it's a yeast extract. That didn't really sound all that appetizing to me. But again, I'm game for just about anything, especially if it's food. It's a very thick, dark, dark brown substance, a bit sticky, supposedly chock full of vitamin B, incredibly salty (reminded me of a bouillon cube), and actually not all that bad on a Ritz cracker if used in moderation. Jeff wouldn't touch it. I wasn't surprised.

I finally buckled down today and started knitting the first of the many baby sweaters I will probably be making in the next few months. The thing that I have noticed is that I can make plans on what to knit. I love looking through books and patterns, and I have purchased several cute patterns in the last week. But for some reason, once I get started, I just find myself changing the pattern. What is wrong with me?! I think that I get a bit irritated having to look at a pattern maybe, or I just get restless and start to wonder what would happen if I did it this way instead of how it was written. I haven't figured it out. But that is indeed what happened today. I started a Debbie Bliss pattern, realized that I didn't want to do it that way, and ripped it out and started my own design. Let's hope it works out.

I've opted to work with Dreambaby DK, which is very reasonably well priced, acrylic/nylon blend. Since I know that I'm making a full basket of knitted goodies, I didn't find it necessary to spend fifty dollars on a baby sweater. Here's what I have come up with so far. I apologize.....the pictures are atrocious and the color is nowhere near the actual pretty blue I'm using, but I'm still posting them. I'll take better pictures when the sweater is completed.


I love cables, but I get bored doing the same cable over and over again. But I also wanted to do something easy. So I I alternated the length of the cables to give the sweater a little interest. I like the effect so far.



This will be the front of the sweater because it seems to be the part of every garment that I don't enjoy making. So I figured I would just get it out of the way. Isn't that weird? Anyhoo, I can't wait to see how the rest of it comes out. I have a few more ideas that I am going to try to incorporate. I'm sure there will be a lot of ripping back......but that comes with the craft, right?

~T