both sides of the tracks

How apt that my neighbourhood should share its name with a knitted garment.

On one side of the tracks there are single-fronted weatherboard Victorian workers' cottages.

On the other side of the tracks there are warehouses (including Husk), auto repairs and Golds World of Judaica. That about sums up Balaclava really - the modern and fashionable, the everyday and the orthodox. I have lived in this area since I was 14 (I'm 32 now) and I love it here.

Balaclava train station itself is not much to look at - unlike Ripponlea, one station down the tracks, there is no historical wooden building - but it is the local facility that I use most of all. Until just a couple of years ago I didn't have access to a car (I didn't even get my license until I was 25) and have always been a staunch public transport user. Apparently, with the rising price of petrol, so are a lot of other people and the peak hour trains are overcrowded. As I haven't been commuting to work these past 12 months I haven't had firsthand experience of this but I will find out come September when I return to work.

One thing about commuting to work again (albeit only two days a week) is that I will have some knitting time both morning and evening (hmm, assuming that I can get a seat). Sock knitting seems like good pt knitting - compact, quick to get to the end of the row, reasonably mindless on the straight stretches. On the left the sock that I currently have underway.

When there is a second sock this pair will be for Tim's dad (if you know Tim's dad - shhh, they're to be a surprise). They are my first pair of adult-sized socks and I'm enjoying knitting them. I've forgotten what the yarn is but it was kindly provided by Jane - many thanks! Please note the wonderful old-school knitting pamphlet; apparently the Patons' sock pattern has remained the same for decades. In other knitting news, I have a good amount of linen 5 ply and am 17 rows into the back of the ballerina top and have purchased a pattern book - Patons Classic Baby Knits - for the pale blue v-neck cardigan that will be graced with the lovely Austrian buttons. Maybe I'll have to go back to work more than two days a week to get all of this done.