The Knitting Man Recommends

04/09/2026

My train adventures resume next week. The Limo has been playing up and Her Highness demanded priority.
Hopefully she will return to her reliable self on Tuesday.
I will then be able to return, after an 8-13 hour trip on the train, to a car that starts and takes me home.
Sigh!
Meanwhile i have been writing "Murder on the Lot 19 Tram" in snatches where I can.
I am at the stage where panic is beginning to gnaw at me. October 24th is not far away!!
October 24th will be a big day in Castlemaine.
The She's Crafty yarn Festival is on in town.
The Castlemaine and District Festival of Gardens kicks off and, over a Sleeve Island (where I am) the Lot19arts will be enjoying its final weekend.
And, of course, over at the Tram the bar will be open and the readings will take place.
In between writing i am dyeing yarn.
If there is interest I will open my studio on the day.
Here is a peek at some of my inventory thus far.
Lot 19 is a wonderful space for a market... a Salon des Refusés in the making.
I will have quite a bit of yarn by the end of October.
Lot 19 (Sleeve Island) will be at peak bush beauty.
Tickets will be on sale next week... by some kind of medical magic purchase of a ticket to "Murder on the Lot 19 Tram" inoculates the purchaser against Second Sock Syndrome.
Very handy if you are going to come onboard.

24/08/2026

A long time ago, in a land far away (about the time Dinosaurs were pooh-poohing the Ice Age)
I had a career as a playwright and screen writer.
I encountered a cross road (mystical speak for a handsome man) and took a different turning.
Since that time, I haven't been able to shake the feeling that I am treading water... waving, not drowning.
I am now at another crossroad. There are no handsome men at this one. Nor are there likely be.
The Ghost of the writer i was, is here however.
So I decided I would resume work on an unfinished play... A Murder Mystery. A knitting/crochet based murder mystery.
It is called "Murder on the Lot 19 Tram".
It is scheduled to be read on Saturday, October 24th on Sleeve Island (Aka) (where I also have my studio).
The idea of writing a play and putting on, even just as a reading, is terrifying.
My life is a tangle of diversions.
And i need to focus.
So, I am availing myself of Victorian Rail's Regional train service as a mobile writing room.
For $2.85 I get an entire day of travel.
Last week I went to Warrnambool and back.
Today is Swan Hill.
6 hours of writing time.
Wish me well...
More details soon

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcZpQGTBTY0/?igsi=MTZsbWhmM3MwN2hrcw==

13/08/2026

This story of Knitting Heroine-ism plays testament to the fabulous collaborative power of fibre arts.
From the women who archive the patterns (Yes! Your stash is an Archive) to the wonderful power of and work done by the Knitting Guilds….
All around this is a wonderful story of reclamation…
Go knitters! (And crocheters, weavers, tatters, embroiderers…..)

An Aussie actor has firmed up as a favourite among Hollywood stars to take the lead in the iconic franchise.

13/08/2026

This is the latest release from Teti Lutsak. This design is the latest in what is a veritable, Vest-Fest.
This project is a great introduction to lace. I knitted this with a DK and kidsilk. It is so gorgeously soft and comforting to wear. It is also reversable.
I knitted the high neck version as it is still winter in Australia and I yearned for softness around my neck.
For the first time in ages I did not knit with my own yarn. This is 'sDk. The kidsilk is my . My equates near exactly however.
No more hand knitting for a while now.
My hands are needed to write.
I want to thank everyone for their kindness and support

07/08/2026

Best Dog Ever
5th August 2026

01/08/2026

A treat for South Austrailian knitters.
Liz Newman had a thriving hand knit business in the 1980's... Intarsia was Queen and many designers were mining Australian Iconography to create colourful, graphic based knitwear.
Then the patterns were lost!!!!
They were recently unearthed in a basement!
Members of the recreated the jumpers then, in conjunction with
Amanda Blair, Dulcie's Bus have joined some local government agencies to curate a collection of her knitwear and her story.
Open all of August at Fabrik Arts + Heritage, 1 Lobethal Road, Lobethal

Step back into the vibrant world of 1980s Australian fashion with Liz Newman Knitwear: Back to the Future, a colourful exhibition celebrating the iconic hand-knitted jumpers that took "Down Under" style to the world.

23/07/2026

The by Teti's knit garden...
Just released.
I was lucky to be a tester...
A great introduction to lace knitting.
I passed on the puffed sleeves and opted for beads and contrast edging.
The day was a beauty.
I donned my recently completed and motored to the Bendigo Wool Show.
There were so many wonderful people there.
I was completely overwhelmed.
I missed so many people.
This pattern is 's latest pattern. It is due to be released next week i think.
Teti's design is feminine, romantic and easy to adapt.
It is a greatow begin working on my play Murder on the Lot 19 Tram. I am really excited to be writing again.
My Listopera is knitted in my own hand dyed yarn.
This is Mr Wuffy in "Honeyed Butter-Crumble".
This yarn is 12ply but miraculously provides 200 metres per 100 grams.
The weight is light. The warmth is gorgeous.
A buttery-honey hug for a day of poignant melancholy

23/07/2026

This beautiful jumper by Teti's knit garden has just been released.
I was a test knitter for this!
It works up a treat in my 12ply mohair

17/07/2026

This girl is the reason I am not at the Wool Show.
I had to make a call on dyeing yarn early this year when it became apparent Frankie needed instense care.
She is so tough. I swear as long as chickens walk the earth she will survive, solely to divest them of that power.
Last night, she woke up at 2.30am. She has laryngeal paralysis (on top of some other things). This condition is noisy and distressing. I was up with her until about 6.30. I administered massage, ventalin... i let her out. I let her in (Repeat).
She fell asleep at 6.30 and, before I did likewise, I thought " Thank Sweetness I am not doing the wool show".
I hope to be back next year.
And i hope to have a functioning online interface soon.
I have also resumed work on a project I began about 4 years ago.
A Tram is involved.
Thank you to people who have reached out to ask after me.

14/05/2026

I finally finished the test knit for 's .
I absolutely love it. This is a precision modular knit. The individual elements add up to create a powerfully simple whole... the sum of the parts... and all that stuff.
This has not been an easy knit.
It took a while to find gauge. I used my Possum/Merino "Dame Edna". A 4 ply in an extravagantly warm colour "The Spice inside your Arms", touched with the blood of "Red Flag" (The two colour rib is my addition and I take full responsibility if it jazzes it up/distracts too much.
A 3mm needle was required to get gauge.
You read that right.
3mms of an all over cable pattern interspersed with paddock sized quantities of half twisted rib.
While knitting this my fabulous, wilful companion has been ailing.
Ihave taken Frankie to the vet twice to be euthanaised. Twice I have returned home full of hope and wonder at her resilience.
Last night she was up from 11pm and her usual cures could not resolve her issues.
I had planned a fabulous photoshoot for my vest.
But in spite of a gorgeous day, she and me are sleep deprived. We are also in that blessed daytime world where everything is normal again.
She doesn't have a lot of time left.
I have pushed everything to one side to sit with her and hold her.
I have withdrawn from all markets. Including Bendigo.
I will return to the studio after she has died.
And I will knit.
I am going crazy of course.
I have never been more grateful for my Knitting... and my style of knitting... slow, precise and measured.
This vest contains slices of my old exuberance in those slashes of deep red.
I am sorry I do not have the zing to photograph and style in the way I had planned.
Frankie of course couldn't care less about knitting.
I am grateful for her lack of regard.