Knit-Wits Anonymous

Bout time?

2008-04-13T20:49:00.004+01:00

I think it's about time I actually made a post on my poor neglected blog don't you? *Sorry bloggie* Life has been a little crazy lately. I'm settled into my job as being a call centre lackey, it's dull but I guess there are far worse jobs in life.. It's nice to be doing the normal thing of going out to work for a living. Hopefully I'll be able to find a better job at some point but everything else is a little crazy right now so I'm not even looking yet.
Chris and I decided to start casually looking at houses to buy having agreed that it was time to actually get ourselves on the property ladder no matter how painful it might be. Then two weeks later we were sorting out a mortgage having had an offer accepted.. I'm still not quite sure how it happened so fast. Anyhoo every day I get home to find another pile of forms to fill out and send back or another list of people I need to call. At the moment it seems endless but at least we are the end of the chain. I haven't even begun to think about the huge task of packing yet.. I'm sure we still have a couple of boxes still not unpacked from when we moved here last summer. I'm going to need gardening tips too as although it's a small garden it's been vandalised by the rabbit who currently lives in there.
I haven't been up to as much knitting as I would have liked lately, being shouted at by upset people who failed their driving test all day sometimes just makes me want to blow stuff up in World of Warcraft rather than knit on an evening!
Lastly can anyone who reads this send some positive thinking to my Uncle who was recently diagnosed with cancer, it may look bleak but keep on fighting Bill!

A labor of Love

2007-08-31T11:06:00.000+01:00

It's not often I will present someone with my entire knitting pattern/book collection and say 'pick something and I'll knit it for you!'. However I had neglected to get my sister a birthday present from lack of inspiration so I decided she could pick what I was to knit her instead.. Out of all the fabulous patterns I have available to me, hundreds of which I would happily knit myself she picked out a mere three which were to her taste. She expects me to knit all three at some point I think which is unlikely to happen but I hastily bought the yarn for project number 1.. the poncho.

This poncho, from the book 'Complete guide to Knitting and Crochet, A useful guide to knitting &crochet - featuring simple and fun projects'

If you have ever tried to knit anything on 20mm needles you will understand my pain and why this is a labor of love. They are clunky, plastic!, uncomfortable and they make you feel like you've just learned to knit all over again because they are so awkward. Plus I personally think that poncho's are a bit naff and this one in particular looks.. well I'll let you use your own imaginations. Anyway, what the lady wants.. the lady gets and she wanted this one in purple so here we have it, my WIP.

It's very quick to knit up when I can bring myself to touch those god awful needles but I've discovered a couple of errors in the pattern. Most importantly the yarn requirements seem to have been way off and I think I'm going to need two extra balls. Overall I'm not impressed with the pattern, it's the first thing I've knit from this book so I'm hoping I wont find similar mistakes throughout.

Lace Edge Cardy

2007-08-15T19:29:00.000+01:00

An Fo! I can finally show you as it has been passed onto it's new owner, the adorable little Isabella. This is the Lace Edge Cardigan from Simply Baby (Debbie Bliss) knitted up in Baby Cashmerino. I enjoyed doing the lace edging as it was the first time Ive put an edging on anything. It looks really cute all put together and finished up and it looked even cuter on Isabella!

Close up of the lace edging

Ive added a tiny portion of stash and projects to ravelry so far.. its just such a huge task! It's worth it in the end though!

Ravelry

2007-08-14T10:40:00.000+01:00

Finally I'm in! It's all very exciting and I love all the features it contains. Add me as a friend, my name is KnitWitEm, looking forward to seeing you in there!
Ive added a few older projects to my collection on there but I still need to photograph my stash.. boy is that going to be a mammoth task!

Another Year Older

2007-07-11T13:57:00.000+01:00

I turned 23 last Friday and I had the rather wonderful surprise of receiving these goodies from Cathy who was my KTE treatee! Such a nice thought of her to want to send me something and such a perfect day for it to arrive! I adore the clever things she can do with glass and she very kindly made something just for me. Go visit her online Etsy shop, you wont be disappointed!

Chris is off work this week having a little holiday so we went out to the beach on Monday to take advantage of the warm weather. He took me for a walk along the cliffs over by Marsden rock and to my surprise he got down on one knee and popped the question! To which I of course said Yes! So I'm engaged.. it feels very surreal. After our walk along the cliffs I dragged my new fiance into town where we trawled the jewellers in search of the perfect ring. I did find it but unfortunately it needs to be re-sized to fit my chubby finger :( So I cant show it off for another two weeks!

And now for the haul..

2007-07-02T13:40:00.001+01:00

Well we didn't have the glorious weather we had hoped for but luckily Woolfest wasn't a complete wash-out. I didn't stay for the full weekend as planned but that didn't stop me shopping till I dropped on the Friday. So I present you with my Woolfest haul 2007!

First up is a natural dye starter kit from DT Craft and Design. The kit contains everything I need to get me started with my own yarn dyeing, something Ive been wanting to try for a while.

Of course the kit was lacking one vital thing.. un-dyed yarn! Good job I was surrounded by plenty of stalls to buy some at. So on a lengthy visit to UK Alpaca's stall I picked this yarn up.

While I was there I found it incredibly difficult to resist the lure of this Baby Alpaca roving.. its so soft you would think it was silk. It truly is incredibly soft stuff!

I also picked up a few of the lesser common shades of Koolaid to have a play with (also from DT Craft and Design).

A visit to the Button Lady or as she referred to it 'the ooh ahh stand' was next on the cards. I have no idea what I will use these buttons for but I loved them and I don't have a button stash to speak of so I figured it was about time I started one!

This yarn was a bit of an impulse buy, it's Chris's favorite colour so I instantly thought I could use it to make him something. Its also a blend of baby alpaca and cotton so its a very nice texture.
Last but by no means least is the token raw fleece, I cant go to a place like Woolfest and not come back with a fleece! This time I picked out a steely grey Alpaca fleece from UK Alpaca (have you noticed a theme yet?).

So that's it, my Woolfest haul. Roll on Woolfest 2008!

Off to Woolfest!

2007-06-27T23:10:00.000+01:00

Its been a really hectic few weeks, we moved flat which was stressful but I love the new place. Then en-route to Ikea to pick up some odds and ends I had a small car accident. A lady had stopped at some traffic lights despite the fact they were green and the very wet road combined with the fact I was travelling downhill meant I skidded into her rear..
Her car is fine.. My car took the long walk to the scrapyard *sob*. It was mostly bodywork damage but the car wasn't worth the cost of the repairs. So after a manic weekend and a loan from my grandad I picked up a new little car. Its a lovely little car and I'll be taking it on it's very first jaunt over to WOOLFEST!

I'm heading over there with fellow Newcastle based knitbloggers tomorrow afternoon and we're staying at the Graysonside Campsite. So if you too are staying there and I know there are a few out there, stop by and say hello!

Quick Update

2007-06-05T13:04:00.001+01:00

We've found a flat to move to! Just waiting for checks to go through before we can get the keys. Now I just have to pack everything up.. ergh! The new flat is much bigger.. more space for wool!
Thankyou for all the kind comments regarding the landlord issues, we finally managed to get through to the landlord and have things pretty much sorted. The old landlord claims he had his solicitor put down in writing that we were to remain tenants.. so im not sure where the communication breakdown happened but someone definately dropped the ball. Anyhow, he is returning to us the bond plus the extra rent that went out to him before we knew the property had been sold. Meanwhile we keep fobbing off the new landlords until we have the money back and the keys to the new place.. Squatters rights!

In amongst this I havent done much knitting, im afraid the blog will most likely become very neglected for a few weeks while we sort things ready to move.. then actually move.. then unpack.

Im having a bad week

2007-05-18T15:49:00.001+01:00

Emily Hart --

[noun]:

A person who falls into an outhouse and dies

'How will you be defined in the dictionary?' at QuizGalaxy.com

That kind of sums it up really doesnt it..

Last week Chris and I were all excited because a regrading system at the university meant he was getting a payrise. The regrading has been rejected by the academics and is now under negotiation once more. This may mean he doesnt get any more money after all.

A while back our landlord informed us that he was selling our flat but that he would ensure we could remain tenants. We had two seperate people come and visit to measure up the flat for various reasons.. neither of which were very helpful about informing us what was going on in this sale. Earlier in the week I was sat in the flat when I heard a key rattling around in the lock on my front door. I was a little perplexed and assumed it was Chris home early from work for some reason and was having trouble with his keys. So I went to the door and found a strange man trying to let himself into my flat. Further more this man seemed totally shocked to see me on the other side of the door. His company had bought the flat and had not been told there were tenants already in it (thankyou mr landlord). In fact someone had been around earlier in the day and had put up a to-let sign outside! The old landlord has our deposit and isnt returning any calls or answering his mobile or responding to voice messages we are leaving. There is a whole load of faff to sort out with the new landlords and we're left feeling very lost and clueless. Its left us with a stronger desire to get the hell out of this place so we're starting to look elsewhere for places to rent closer to Chris's work.

With all this carry on I have neglected blogging and I have been meaning to post a pic of the lovely goodies my Knitters Treat Exchange pal sent me. It was lovely to receive this , thankyou so much! The chocs didnt last long at all but I still have some of the maple candy, its so sweet I think i'd be very ill if I tried to eat it all at once. The homemade stitch markers are gorgeous and I love your choice of yarn.

Izzy preferred the box that it all came in.. (I promise she went in there all one her own I didn't force her to sit in a box for the sake of a cute picture) All my cats seem to like sitting in boxes despite us owning three comfy kitty beds tailor made for them.

Sorry for the lack of knitting posts lately, I haven't been doing huge amounts of knitting this week so I dont really have anything exciting to blog about. Perhaps by next week I will have some finished socks to show you, i'm happily trucking away at them and am midway down the foot on sock number two.

What if your pets kept diaries..

2007-04-27T12:49:00.000+01:00

I received this in an email and simply had to share it with the world as it's hilarious. Enjoy!

Excerpts from a Dog's Diary

6:00am - At last! I Go Pee! My favorite thing!
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
6:00 pm - They're home! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

Excerpts from a Cat's Diary

Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet.

Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am. Bastards!

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow -- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded.

The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now...

Baby Grannies

2007-04-23T15:12:00.000+01:00

Hello! to anyone who has found their way over to my blog through the latest issue of 'Knitting' magazine. What a huge shock it was to see my little blog being reviewed! It was such a lovely review too so huge thanks to the author of that article if she is still reading my blog.

Ive been working on my granny square technique and I'm rather proud of myself for whipping these little beauties up:

Ive been making them with Debbie Bliss' Baby Cashmerino because it was the perfect weight for the hook I have and I had several balls as leftovers from baby projects. So this may in itself become a baby project if I ever make enough squares to make a blanket. I'm just enjoying making them at the moment so I'll keep going until the novelty wears off or I run out of yarn, whichever happens first (who am I kidding, I never run out of yarn!)

The article in 'knitting' referred to my love of cats and in particular the photos of my girls (Molly and Izzy) which made me feel bad about poor Scooter. I clearly don't get him featured on the blog enough so here he is on his own. I found it difficult to get a cute pic of him as he isn't the most photogenic cat in the world, bless him. He was our first cat, picked up from a shelter at the age of about 6 months and he is about 6 years old now I think. He is definitely Chris's cat though, every afternoon he sits at the top of the stairs waiting for his 'daddy' to come home but ignores any attention I try to give him. I don't mind though, my girls love me.. sometimes.

Little feet, Big feet

2007-04-13T12:16:00.000+01:00

Thanks to those who sent well wishes, I'm feeling tons better now that the cold is out of my system. Big waves to my KTE spoiler, thank you for getting in touch!

So I finally got my arse into gear and I can show you the cute lil booties I made for Isabella and was very chuffed to see her modelling them although I didn't have my camera to photograph that. So here they are:

The pattern was in an issue of Simply Knitting although it's actually a Debbie Bliss pattern, I have no idea if it's in one of her books or not. The yarn is Debbie Bliss baby cashmerino and I added the little ribbon just to make them look extra pretty.

Onto the big feet, my feet! I'm cursed with UK size 8 feet which not only makes getting nice shoes a tad difficult it makes sock knitting a bit of a chore. Ive knit two pairs of socks so far and both were gifts for other people so these are for me! all mine!

I'm using socks that rock yarn in the colourway Covelite. So far there is only one sock finished but I have started the second one after undergoing a brief phase of 'Second Sock Syndrome' .

Under the careful tuition of my lovely knitting pals Lucy and Hannah I finally managed to crochet! So I present to you, my first ever successful attempt at a granny square! I was using a slightly smaller hook than I should have been with this yarn but I only own two or three hooks that were left to me by my grandma. I fear some shopping may be in order!

I feel very clumsy when I'm crocheting, the whole process seems very strange right now but when I recall learning to knit for the first time I know I went through exactly the same experience. I still remember sitting knitting in my room as a child and trooping down the stairs every ten minutes with a dropped stitch for my mother to fix. This often resulted in her sliding the whole thing of the needles and re-knitting all the stitches i had done over the past hour in a matter of minutes.

Blergh!

2007-04-07T15:31:00.000+01:00

Thats how im feeling.. blergh! I have a stinking cold and it sucks! Ive been meaning to post a pic of the cute little booties I made for Isabella but trivial things like finding the cable for the camera seems like too much hassle when you feel blergh. I had a lovely day on Monday though (right before I caught the lergy) visiting Jen and little Isabella. She is a darling and it was fab to see her wearing the booties.
I didn't get the job I was hoping for though so that left me feeling a tad blue on top of the blergh. Im trying to remain positive though and will continue to paper the streets with my CV in the hope that I discover my dream job.

I will get some pics up and some more interesting content as soon as my brain unpacks the cotton wool its storing in there.
Im off to get another Lemsip.

Entrelacking good!

2007-03-24T10:47:00.000Z

Well as ever, I haven't learnt my lesson.. I switched down from 5.5mm to 4.5mm needles and knit the largest size thinking it would end up a tad smaller because of the needle shift. When will I learn to knit tension squares? possibly never. So anyway I soon realised that my cushion was definitely far wider than the 18" stated in the pattern so rather than frog the lot I decided to fold it in half and make it a dinky cushion. Meaning the entrelac pattern was on both sides of it rather than just the front. Here is a pic of the blocking so you can see length of the beast.

One other thing I should mention about the pattern was the number of cast on stitches seemed to be wrong.. at least I'm not sure how it was supposed to work if it was right. I couldn't understand how it would work unless the cast on stitches were a multiple of 6 which they aren't in the pattern so I made a change there and it worked out perfectly.

Izzy allowed me to use her as a size comparison for this pic of the finished item. I fastened the edges at the back with 3 buttons (sorry I neglected to take a photo of that) so that the insert could be removed when it needs a wash.
I'm really quite pleased with the end result and I found the entrelac technique really quite good fun and in a strange way it has lessened my hatred of picking up stitches (who knew that would ever happen?)
Here's a closer view of the detail, ignore the blurry moggy in the corner.

It's Chris birthday on Monday, I spent my entire week trying to hunt down a Nintendo Wii (games console) for him. Typically I decide to buy him something which no shops anywhere have in stock! After finally admitting defeat and telling him my plans had fallen through (and me feeling awful for not having a gift for him) I hit a stroke of luck! I found a 2nd hand console on Ebay and the person just so happens to live nearby so I'm collecting it and will have it in time for his birthday! phew!

Knitters Treat Exchange Questionaire

2007-03-22T12:12:00.000Z

Knitters Treat Exchange Questionnaire
Ive linked this questionaire in my sidebar under the KTE button so my pal can find it again.

1. What's your favourite type of yarn?
Anything with natural fibres! I'm a big fan of Alpaca.

2. What's your least favourite type of yarn?
Those crazy acrylic fun fur and eyelash yarns that are out there and anything that has such a high level of acrylic that it squeaks. yuk!

3. What's the first thing you do when you visit a new yarn shop?
Look for anything new that I might not have seen before then I go around touching everything soft and woolly.

4. What other crafts do you do / would like to do?
I'm fairly new to the world of spinning, I have an Ashford traditional wheel which I love to play with. I would love to dye my own yarn, that's something I have never tried before. I would also like to learn crochet.

5. What magazines do you currently subscribe to?
I subscribe to 'Simply Knitting'. I often buy the Rowan magazines when they are released too depending upon whether I like the content.

6. Put this type of magazine in order of preference:
Knitting / Crochet / Other Craft / Food / Home / Fashion / Celebrity Gossip / Garden
Knitting/other craft/home/celebrity gossip/food/crochet/garden/ fashion

7. What items do you like to knit / crochet?
I really enjoy knitting for babies but I don't get the opportunity very often at the moment.
I enjoy knitting things which involve me learning a new technique.

8. Are you allergic to anything?
Not that I know of.

9. What do you like to* smell of?
(*This is not a typo. The question is: What do you like to smell of)
I'm a huge fan of Lavender because of it's soothing aromatherapy qualities but I also like sweet scents like vanilla.

10. What's your favourite way to relax?
A nice hot bath with a relaxing blend of essential oils in and candles around the edge.

11. You're stood in front of a Victorian style sweetshop, an Italian cafe, an old fashioned bakery and a dainty tea room. Where do you go first?
Probably the Victorian style sweetshop.. i think I'd be lying if I said I'd go elsewhere.

12. What do you come out with?
A bag of shandy pint pot jelly sweets.. I used to love these as a kid but they seem to have fallen off the face of the earth.

13. Where do you go next?
The Italian cafe, I spent a month in a rural part of Italy on an archaeological dig while I was a student since then I've been hooked on espresso.

14. Any other words of wisdom for your pal?
I think the only thing missing is my favorite choice in colours; I'm a big fan of rich berry colours, blues, purples, reds and I like sea greens. I don't like pastel shades, I like my yarn to be rich and vibrant (although obviously pastel shades are useful for knitting for little ones - just not on me)

2007-03-16T14:20:00.000Z

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

My blog is 2 years old today.. doesn't time fly!

Look! Actual knitting content!

2007-03-15T11:41:00.000Z

The last issue of Simply Knitting had a booklet for a few household items one of which was Entrelac cushion covers. Entrelac is a technique Ive always admired and it stirred up my curiosity. I basically just wanted to have a go and see how difficult it was but I'm finding it strangely addictive! Its so easy to pick up and do a few blocks then put down again. Plus I'm using Noro silk garden so I find the colour progression fun too. Anyway here is a quick peek at the progress so far, sorry about the cats feet she wouldn't leave me alone to take a photo. This is the only one that didn't go blurry when she head-butted my camera.
Progress on the Juno cardigan is steady but I must admit to neglecting it a bit of late. I can however reveal something I had been knitting secretly since it has been delivered to its new owner now. It was this cute little tank top from Debbie Bliss' Baby Cashmerino 2.

I forgot to take a finished photo before wrapping it for Jen's baby shower but you can see it in this photo that Jen took (middle right). I love knitting for babies, everything is so adorable and you get that quick sense of satisfaction for completing something.

Finally I leave you with a gratuitous stash photo, two skeins of Socks that Rock sock yarn! Nodding violet colourway on the left and Covelite on the right. Everyone has been raving about this stuff so I figured it would be a wise investment to make me feel the love of sock knitting.

One last thing... Can everyone out there send me some good luck vibes please! I have applied for a job, it's something I really want so any extra good luck you can send my way is appreciated.
Applying for jobs and getting knock backs was a main factor in my recent 'blue phase' so the fact that I have applied for something again feels quite significant. I refuse to talk to much about this job though because I am trying not to get my hopes up. Cross your fingers for me.

Meet Zach..

2007-03-12T17:29:00.000Z

The latest edition to my sidebar (you have to scroll down a bit). He's quite cute, feed him a fly he likes them.
You see this is what happens when you spend way too long surfing the net.

If anyone needs a smile check this site out, www.cuteoverload.com full of pictures that make you go AWWWW!

Sorry I dont have anything more productive to bring you today or anything knitterly related.

Another Spinning Saturday..

2007-03-04T16:06:00.000Z

When I bought my spinning wheel second hand on Ebay it only came with two bobbins making plying any yarn a bit difficult. So I invested in a couple of extra bobbins and decided to have a play this weekend. I pulled out the Natural Alpaca fibre I bought at Woolfest last year (drool). Ive been saving this fibre for when I felt I was skilled enough with my wheel to do it justice. I probably didn't do the best job in the world but there is something about producing the yarn yourself that makes you love it no matter how random it turns out. So here it is laying next to the gorgeous deep red merino/silk blend I showed you from last weeks spinning sesh.

And here is what the Alpaca looks like when you bury your nose in it.. should you feel the urge.

I keep laying them together thinking how nice they would be knitted up together but there is also a side of me that is eager to play with dyeing the alpaca. I still have several lumps of the Alpaca fibre to spin up but it's lovely to spin with. I think I'll definitely be investing in more Alpaca on this years visit to Woolfest.

No pics to blog about on the knitting front, I feel like I'm taking two steps forward one step back with the Juno cardigan. I had to frog the front that I was almost finished with because I suddenly realised I had far fewer stitches than I should have had. In frustration I decided to cast a sleeve on instead. The pattern for the sleeve stated to keep increasing every 10 rows till I had x amount of stitches. I reached that amount and checked the pattern which said to knit straight until I have 47 cm worth of sleeve.. So I pulled out my tape measure to see how far I had to go only to find I had 51cm already. hmmm.. Careful checking and rechecking ensued and I simply cant see any mistake in my increases. In the end I got so frustrated I just finished the sleeve as it was despite the extra inch and perhaps I will see what happened when I do the other sleeve. By that point I might be in a better mood to frog the damn thing and start over. If it turns out exactly the same then I will have to assume it is the awesome power of the knitting gods telling me this particular jumper looks better with slightly longer sleeves.. (please just humour me)

Spinning Saturday

2007-02-24T21:35:00.000Z

I spent my Saturday afternoon spinning up the gorgeous merino/silk fibre Spinning Fishwife sent me a while back to cheer me up. So I thought I would share the results with you. It was a delight to spin with, so soft! I must say I'm still not particularly skilled in the art of keeping my spun yarn at the same level of thickness throughout. However im still rather pleased with the end result and looking forward to knitting it up into something!

The girls had a rather lazier afternoon making a nest out of my many throws on the sofa.. It brings a smile to my face to see them getting along so well though.

Knitting weekend by the coast

2007-02-23T18:54:00.000Z

Well I battled with my digital camera and PC in an effort for them to acknowledge the others existence to no avail.. So I asked Izzy to have a word with them.. I mean seriously, would you argue with that face?

So I can finally present you with a few pics of the beautiful English coast in all it's glory, enjoy!

The beautiful coast of Beadnell

Frobisher enjoyed an attempt at sand castle building with a little bit of help from Glenda

Everyone enjoying the fresh air

Apparently this is what pregnancy does to women.. makes them insane enough to go for a paddle in the North sea!

Of course the majority of our spare time was used endulging in our favourite past time

I ate far too much of some fantastic food, blew some cobwebs away in the freshest of air, enjoyed fabulous company and had a thoroughly good knit and natter. Just what the doctor ordered!

OOPS

2007-02-22T16:51:00.000Z

Well that will teach me to fiddle.. I upgraded to the new version of blogger and picked out a new template but neglected to save the old one so Ive lost all my sidebar links.. I cant figure out which bit of the html I paste the blogrolling java script into so im going to have to do it the old fashioned way :(

EDIT: Sorted the blogrolling list woohoo! Now all I have to do is track down all my webrings and buttons..

I know I know.. Im a bad blogger

2007-02-22T16:09:00.000Z

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted!
Things are getting much more on track for me these days and im definately feeling more positive so I guess ive been getting out and about alot more which is why there has been a distinct lack of blogging!
I was hoping to show off some lovely photos of my recent trip to Beadnell with fellow knitters but I tried connecting my camera to my pc and it simply doesnt want to play. Darling bf has been fiddling with it while I went away (scowl). So if you are interested to see my knitting weekend antics you can hop over to Purlpower and see some pics there. Until I can persuade my pc that the digital camera I connected to it does in fact exist!

So in a life update, ive signed up for an ICS home learning course in small animal care. Ive been enjoying my time volunteering at the shelter so much that ive decided to try and improve my knowledge. This is the first time ive signed up for a home learning course so i'd love to hear from anyone out there that has done one before, good and bad!

And in knittting news... im knitting this!

Limited progress so far, the back is done and im almost finished with one of the fronts. Reminding myself of how lovely it will look when it is finished is the only thing that stops the constant 2x2 rib from driving me crazy. I'll be sure to show you my actual progress along with a few FO's when the camera problem is sorted!

I win!

2006-11-30T12:24:00.000Z

Well I finally got my own way! muwahaha! Meet Izzy, the latest edition to my household. She broke my heart when I first met her at the shelter, everyone would pass by her cage and not even see her because she would hide behind her basket and out of sight. Since most people are looking to adopt the youngest and prettiest kitties on the block she was often overlooked even when people did see her. She had been at the shelter for about 2 months and she is such a lovely old lady! We adopted her a week ago on the date that would have been my gran's birthday (my gran passed away on boxing day last year) and my gran's name was Isobel so that is why she's named Izzy.

My other two kitties have accepted the new girl quite quickly, helped I think primarily by the fact that she tends to sleep 24 hours a day and stay out of their way.

Big thanks to Nickerjac who very kindly sent me some gorgeous cashmere sock yarn! Im going to start knitting myself some socks as soon as I get the christmas knitting over with. I have a few FO's to show you all but I only just got new batteries in my camera so I will get them up to show off soon.

A Big THANKYOU!

2006-11-14T13:26:00.000Z

I have been completely bowled over by everyone's kind thoughts emails and comments. In particular i'd like to thank Isabella over at Spinning Fishwife for sending me this gorgeous blend of merino and silk fiber.

And my wonderful ex-Secret Pal who decided to send me something anyway. You are too kind! The picture does not to the yarn justice as you all cant feel how amazingly soft this stuff is!

Things are starting to look a little better for me now, I think finally admitting to myself and everyone else out there that im not coping too well with things really helped me. Ive started volunteering at the local cat and dog shelter, I go for an afternoon and cuddle cats! They have a quiet comfy little room where I can take them one at a time and just spend time alone with them. The idea is to basically make sure they dont become too anti-social or just give them some well deserved fuss and attention. To be honest I think its helping me as much as it helps them! I fell in love with some of the ones that had been there for months but I think Chris wouldnt be best pleased if I brought them all home!

Big thanks to Flossie and Lucy for using last minute shock tactics to coax me out of the house for a visit to the yarn shop! That was the first time ive been out without Chris's help in weeks and I had a really nice day.

A Big Sorry

2006-11-03T13:44:00.000Z

To everyone who reads my blog, to my friends at the knitting groups and to the people at Secret Pal 9.
The main reason my blog hasn't been updated recently is that my computer has been in need of repair. Gladly that has been sorted now and I am able to bring you this post.
I think it's about time I explained why my friends at the knitting groups havent seen me in such a long time. I haven't been very happy for some time now and appearing in public right now makes me very nervous. I find the idea of going out in public if Chris isn't with me very frightening. I realise this sounds crazy which is why im taking the easy way out and explaining this through the power of blogger rather than to your faces. Im working towards being able to come back to the knitting groups because I really enjoy seeing all you lovely ladies.

I entered the secret pal exchange to try and help cheer myself up and I have been informed through some rather upsetting emails that I have been letting both my pals down by not updating my blog or being in contact. With my pc out of action and so much on my mind I realise that I have not been the best pal in the world. Hopefully I will be able to put things right from now on.

I hope everyone out there is well and I truly am sorry to those people I have let down.

UPDATE: shortly after writing this I received another email regarding SP which made me feel very unhappy so I have decided to bow out from the exchange. Thankyou to both my upstream and downstream pals you have been incredibly understanding. I hope I havent caused too much trouble.

SP9 Questionaire

2006-10-06T13:17:00.000+01:00

Well ive been emailed my match so I thought I had better get this up for the person spoiling me!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Favourite: Natural fibers, I love Alpaca. I like knitting with anything soft, im definately a bit of a yarn snob. Not like: Acrylic!! I also hate eyelash yarns and fake furs, bleh!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
I recently bought a lovely needle roll at woolfest which is where I keep all my straights my DPN's and circs sadly arent so lucky and live in the original packets wherever I shove them.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
Ive been knitting for I think about 3 years and i'd consider myself an Intermediate.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
HERE!

5. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products, etc.)
Im easily pleased in this area I like most things. Im a fan of aromatherapy and I love anything with lavender in.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Definately.. who doesn't?? If my pal is living in another country i'd love to try out something sweet I can't get in England.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
Ive recently started spinning, I love it and find it very relaxing.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
Yes I can play MP3's and Im generally open to all forms or music but I like rock, punk, sca and folk mainly.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I generally go for deep sea greens and blues when im choosing yarn but I have been trying to move into different colour schemes lately. I love purples, oranges and reds, anything that is rich. Im definately not a huge fan of pastel shades unless im knitting for a baby.

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I currently live in a flat that is far too small with my boyfriend Chris and our 2 cats Molly and Scooter.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
yes to all but the poncho. You can never have enough scarves and mitts!

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
hmmm.. it really depends on my mood. I have enjoyed dabling in lace but there are times when it can make your head hurt and a simple sock is much more enjoyable.

13. What are you knitting right now?
I have a few things on the needles, some fairisle mittens, the print o the wave stole and some socks for chris. There are a few more hidden in the depths of my stash that havent been worked on for over a year but they dont count.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Yes definately!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I like circular just as much as I like straight although I don't own as many circulars. Definately prefer bamboo or any other wooden needle over metal or plastic.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
I own a swift but not a ball winder, the swift used to be my grans and is very old but it does the job. Eventually i'll splash out and buy myself a ball winder.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
Probably 2 years, a jumper I started for Chris that ended up being way too wide and has sat in a bag ever since.

18. What is your favorite holiday?
I love Christmas, I hope thats the sort of holiday it means.

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Just yarn really and anything to do with yarn!

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
The only magazine subscription I have is to Simply Knitting but I also buy the Rowan magazine whenever it comes out. I would love to see more of Interweave or Rebecca magazines.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I would quite like to learn crochet, something ive been meaning to do for a while.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
I have only knit one pair of socks so far and im about two thirds through my second pair. Im definately not very speedy when it comes to socks! I have size 8 (uk) feet so I wouldnt want to inflict the chore of knitting me some socks on anyone!

23. When is your birthday? (mm/dd)
6th of July

Phew that was a chore! If there is anything I didnt answer fully enough for you SP send me an email with any questions :)
Im also going to link this in the sidebar for easy access.

Gloves on the go..

2006-09-29T16:41:00.000+01:00

Well I was completely bowled over by all the comments that appeared so quickly after i posted last time. Its nice to know your all still reading! :)
In answer to the questions about the spinning; I do have a wheel, it's an Ashford traditional and I love it! I find it alot easier to cope with than drop spindles. Thats Molly laying beside it in the pictures from the previous post. My other cat Scooter often uses the step of the wheel as a pillow, he is a bit strange.
I have no idea what im going to do with that natural shetland I spun, it hasn't told me what it wants to be yet. Im a firm believer that yarn will tell you what it wants to be if you give it enough time.
Which leads me to an FO:

The yarn is some Frog Tree 100% Alpaca that GlittrGirl gave me for my birthday. This stuff is gorgeous and has been sat in my stash waiting to live up to its potential for a while. The pattern is of course 'Fetching' from Knitty. It is also my first real attempt at cables so I was quite pleased with myself once I'd finished.

Next up I have a WIP to show you:

My darling bf bought me a couple of balls of Rowan Tapestry as a surprise so I decided to use it to make the mittens out of the latest issue of Simply Knitting. Breaking more new ground with these since I have never attempted fairisle before. I really enjoyed it though, while I was working through the fairisle section I just couldn't put them down. Very addictive knitting.
I simplified the colour scheme a little from the original pattern basically to keep the cost down. I didnt want to have too many balls leftover with only a small amount having been used. Im really looking forward to putting these on my hands in the up coming winter months.

In my triumphant return to blogging I decided to throw my name into the hat for SP9 so I eagerly await to hear who my match is!

You spin me right round.. Baby right round!

2006-09-20T11:07:00.000+01:00

I had such good intentions of updating my blog after woolfest, im not sure what happened.. I think im just lazy! Well I doubt many of you are still checking up on my blog but its nice to keep a record for myself.
Anyway, I present you with my spinning antics and the various stages of Jeff's life (jeff being my fleese remember).
Here he is at the start of his spinning career

First off it was bathtime for this stinky creature! You dont want to know what the water looked like afterwards!

Then he was given the luxury of laying out in the sun to dry for a day, bits of straw are still tangled up in him but at least he doesnt have the poo smell anymore.

Molly decided to keep guard in case he got up and tried to sneak off into the night.

Jeff was then carded up and used as a test subject for my spinning technique. He was fairly easy to spin with but the yarn I produced with him is nothing I would be willing to share with the knitting community. So instead I bring you this natural Shetland I have spun up and im quite proud of it.

And an extreme close up although my camera cant cope too well with these.

I really have got the bug for spinning, its so relaxing. I still have more of this shetland to spin up then i need to decide what it will become in knitted form. How exciting! I am yet to venture into the world of plying too but that is an adventure for another day.

It's my birthday and I'll knit if I want to!

2006-07-06T10:25:00.000+01:00

Today I turned 22! Since Woolfest nicely coincided with my birthday relatives were easily persuaded to simply send me off to woolfest with a wad of cash in my pocket. And boy was I pleased with that result! So here I present to you, my own personal haul (WARNING, picture overload).

First up is this gorgeous handpainted cobweb weight from Jamieson and smith along with a pattern leaflet for a lovely lace shetland shawl. This yarn was really popular and im glad a snapped it up when I saw it on the Friday.

Next up, Fibre!! I splurged quite a bit on fibre because I would really like to improve my skills with the spinning wheel. The natural stuff you see at the front is Shetland roving (again from Jamieson and Smith) I actually bought a kilo of the stuff but I just chose a nice handful for the photo. The pretty coloured stuff I picked up for felting, something ive not tried before but I bought some felting needles to have a play with. All the coloured stuff is from Scottish Fibres and was found in their bargain bin for £2.00.

I adore this, its a recycled sweater needle Roll from Pavi Yarns.

And a shot of the interior.. Now I just need some gorgeous and expensive needles..

Well.. I did get these. Ebony dpns and they feel amazing! These were from Scottish Fibres. I picked up a rosewood circular at this stand too but that is already being used so no photo just yet.

Ok, next up! Lopi pencil roving from Twist Fibre Craft Studio which is perfect for felting. I also have a roll of it in a lovely rusty orange but that is already in use too.

More Fibre! but this is no ordinary fibre.. This, my friends, is Alpaca! As white as driven snow and as soft as kitten fluff.. Its the stuff dreams are made of. So naturally this will remain in its lumpy state until I can finally make my spinning wheel do the things I want it too. Then I shall be turned into gorgeous yarn.

They really arent fibbing in the leaflet!

Some hand carders to aid me in my spinning ventures, these are from Wingham Wool.

The carders were needed for this last puchase, a Derbyshire Gritstone fleece. This is raw fleece with straw and poo included but hell if your gona learn to spin you might as well go the whole hog right? One of the things I liked about the Alpaca fleece sellers was the fact that they had their names on the bags. My sheepy is nameless so he is now a Jeff. Soon I will be able to show you the various stages of Jeff's life from the day I brought him home as ' that stinky fleece' to the moment I first knit with the yarn I spin from him.

This one is not a Woolfest purchase, this is a gift from my wonderful sister (a non knitter). 4 Skeins of noro silk garden in a gorgeous colourway! Im still in shock.. Huge thanks are heading her way for this one!

And last but not least, I leave you with this.. HOW LUCKY AM I???!!!

Woolfest 2006

2006-07-04T10:11:00.000+01:00

Back to blogging once more because I had such a fantastic weekend in Cockermouth with fellow knitbloggers! We decided to drive over on the Thursday to make full use of the weekend and so that we could be beating down the doors to get into woolfest the next morning.

Alice (Flossie Knits) and Helen (Purlpower)

It was the most amazing experience and we all admitted to feeling very overwhelmed when we first walked in. Here are a few photos of the interior which might help you understand why!

Look at all the colours!!

And finally, THE HAUL!

Back Row: Gourdongirl, Purlpower, Spinning Fishwife, Sue
Front Row: Flossie Knits, GlittrGirl, ScumKitten, Me

This pile is everyones purchases from the weekend (minus the pile of fleece bought by spinning fishwife). I guess I had better start saving up for next year!! I will take some close up pictures of the bits that are mine and blog them later.

Oops!

2006-05-08T12:17:00.000+01:00

Ive been rather neglectful of my blog and im not quite sure why! I think pure laziness comes into it. That and I havent been knitting much over the past month and have nothing finished to show you! After I finished the throw I think the task of weaving in all those bloody ends made me fall out of love with knitting for a little while. So the throw now drapes itself across the back of my sofa with the few ends i still have to do discreetly tucked down the back and hidden from view. I'll get to it eventually! So here are my current WIP's:

These were intended to be a gift for my other half Chris for his birthday.. Which happened over a month ago. This project wasnt helping me regain my love for knitting so i decided to start something new!
And here it is, from Debbie Bliss's book Special Knits a cute little dress in baby cashmerino.

There is something about knitting baby clothes that i love, I don't know many people who have a baby so it's a rare treat. Anyway, here is my progress so far:

For anyone who is yet to discover the joy of knitting with baby cashmerino, you must go buy some immediately! It's so soft, I love it!

Sorry Suzanne and Alice, it's a week late but I got there in the end.

My god.. Its a monster!

2006-03-02T10:15:00.000Z

The Brioche throw is still growing, as you can see:

It's been fantastic to knit since it turned cold though as it covers my legs and keeps them warm while it grows. It had an outing to the Forth on Tuesday too where I discovered it is no longer the most portable project in the world!
And an extreme close up:

Im still loving the colours but ive decided to no longer carry the yarns up one side. I was pulling it a bit too tight seemingly and that side was in danger of ending up several inches shorter than the other side. So im ignoring the horrific task of trying to sort the ends out.. I have another 15 inches before it becomes an issue anyway. One of my greatest fears is that the cats will claim my beautiful throw as their own (as cats do with anything soft and comfy). Here is Molly failing to reassure me that she has no interest in the throw whatsoever:

Ive added my official gold medal to the sidebar for finishing my olympic challenge but since Whit went to the trouble of making it I thought i'd also display my Team DPN gold medal with pride!

Crossing the Finish Line

2006-02-20T12:15:00.001Z

Well I made it with plenty time to spare, I have finished my Olympic challenge to knit my first pair of socks. Here they are in rather badly lit photo:

And of course, the obligitory 'on the feet' shot:

Im really pleased with them, very comfy (if a little small in the foot for me). Plus I have enough yarn leftover to make a pair of baby socks. Now all I need is to find a baby to knit them for!

Too much knitting - Not enough blogging!

2006-02-16T10:51:00.000Z

I must say, ive become so drawn in by this whole sock knitting thing that ive just been too busy knitting to show you my Olympic progress! Well here they are so far, my first ever proper sock!

The sock yarn im using is from Curious Yarns in the colourway, Faded. The pattern was the one I received in the sock kit from them.
They are on the large side, which ordinarily would be great as I have big feet however I had intended to gift these to my dear sister so it looks like she's getting a new pair of slipper socks instead!
Heel turning wasn't as scary as everyone seems to make out but it certainly did require a lot of concentration since it was my first attempt at short row shaping. I really like the way the heel turned out though.
At this rate it looks like im going to finish my challenge way ahead of time.. perhaps more socks are in order! I certainly have more sock yarn hidden in my stash!

In other news, I have been accepted onto the Masters course I wanted to do! On the condition that my reference is ok and I give evidence of my first degree. So im over the moon, at last my life seems to have some sense of direction!

On your marks..

2006-02-03T10:22:00.000Z

Yay my order from Curious Yarns arrived! I must say, they aren't too great at email communication but boy do they package nice yarn! I ordered their sock kit with an extra skein of sock yarn and here is how it looked when it arrived, all lovingly wrapped up in tissue paper with a few free sweets thrown in!

Here it is after tearing through the tisue! I am really pleased with the sock kit and the colours of the yarn I chose. I really love the hand written labels on the yarn they have every bit of information on you would ever need! The skein to the left is in two seperate bits so that you can do the cuff, heel and toe in lilac and the main body of the sock in the other colours. I must say, it is taking alot of self control not to cast my socks on right now! Must... wait... for... olympics!

And finally a close up of the very sweet little stitch markers that are included for the kit, the rings are just the right size for the skinny DPN's.

Also, ive joined Team DPN for the knitting Olympics. If there is anyone else out there knitting socks, come join in the fun!

Tearing my hair out!

2006-02-01T16:11:00.000Z

Taking time out from applying for a masters course online on account of the fact that I clicked something I shouldnt have and lost all of the stuff i'd filled in so far.. Oh so that's why there is a 'save' function.. AHHHH!

So anyway, last night was knitting at the Forth which is always fun! In fact it was chatting to Jen who has done the Museum Studies MA already that has propelled me into action today. I think ultimately it's going to be the best way forward.

Here's what I was working at whilst drinking in the Forth.. ist it purdy!?

I know it doesnt look like very much so far but it 'will' be the Brioche throw from Colinette's Toast and marmalade pattern book. I think it's also the same pattern which comes with the Perugino throw kit. I substituted some of the colours and im really chuffed with the way it looks. It looks to me like a watercolour painting that someone spilt a glass of water over.
It's good fun to knit but you do end up in a bit of a tangle since the pattern states to carry the yarns up the side so you have 6 balls of wool attached to it.. I have to keep having a bit of a de-tangling session!

Ive also signed up for the knitting olympics in a moment of madness. Im taking on the challenge of knitting my first ever pair of socks! Thats if the sock kit I ordered from curious yarns ever arrives.

In other news my fellow knitting buddy, Alice has been nominated in simply knitting as 'knitter of the year!' Go vote for her by calling 0901 890 4884 or texting simplyD to 84070

She is also going to be doing the Aviva walk to breakthrough cancer, if you can spare a few pennies to help her fight cancer please do so here.
She still has to raise quite a bit more and every little helps!

Tagged!

2006-01-30T23:26:00.000Z

Purlpower tagged me ages ago and ive been a very lazy blogger. Sorry PP!

Four Jobs you've had in your life:
Waitress
Bar maid/popcorn seller at a cinema
Factory worker (i lasted 1 day so im not sure it really counts!)
That's it so far im afraid! Though ive done work experience at a couple of places.

Four movies you would watch over and over:
The Princess Bride
Labyrinth
Ladyhawke
Clue

Four places you have lived:
Northumberland
Birmingham
Newcastle
Thats it so far!

Four TV shows you love to watch:
Firefly
Futurama
Family Guy
Spaced

Four places you have been on vacation
Florida, USA
Rome, Italy
Travelled round Greece and Crete
Menorca

Four websites I visit daily:
Generally I just visit all the blogs in my sidebar which have been recenty updated!

Four of my favourite foods:
Pasta
Tuna
Mushrooms
Mature cheddar cheese

Four places I would rather be right now:
In bed
The Sabine Hills, Italy
The Lake District
In the Forth pub with my knitting buddies!

I wont tag anyone cos I cant think of anyone who hasnt done this recently. If anyone gets bored and fancies doing it, feel free to consider yourself tagged!

Clap-Happy!

2006-01-24T16:21:00.000Z

I actually finished this last Tuesday but ive been slacking off my blogging duties! Here she is, a finished Clapotis!

She is plenty long enough as you can see and had her first outing that night with knitting group at the Forth. Piccies here on Flossie's blog!

Moving onto my next FO, some fingerless gloves! I decided to make these because it's so bloody cold in my flat my hands turn into blocks of ice while im at the pc. These are perfect as my fingers are free to type away!

The wool was given to me by my SP5 and I still have two balls left. I dug this photo out of the wool, I took this when i first got the wool. Molly was still so tiny back then!

This is the basic fingerless gloves pattern i used: pattern
Obviously i decided not to bother doing the individual finger bits as i wanted my fingers to be as free as poss.

Here is Molly as she is today, happily chewing away at one of mommy's DPN's. Lucky it was metal or she would have destroyed it! Can't have done her teeth much good though. Looks like im going to have to keep needles better hidden in future.

Thankyou

2006-01-13T22:46:00.000Z

Thankyou for the comments! Im a bit torn as I do like my scarves and shawls long however im really not sure I will have enough yarn if I start adding to much more in..
I think i'll play it safe and stick to the pattern and if I want it longer i'll try to stretch it a bit in the blocking.

Hoping to have it finished soon!

Advice Please!

2006-01-13T10:42:00.000Z

Calling anyone who has ever knit 'clapotis'!

Im about to reach the end of the repeats for the straight section rows and I was wondering if anyone who has knit it before recommends making it a wee bit longer than the pattern states? Or is the length perfectly fine as is?
If it helps anyone, im knitting it with HipKnits pure silk. Ive heard people say that silk stretches quite a bit when blocked. Will it stretch too much and I should in fact make it shorter?

Well if no-one gets back to me in time i'll just stick to the pattern and see how it goes!

My crimbo pressies!

2006-01-10T16:30:00.000Z

Here are all the lovely books santa (more commonly known as Chris or Mum) brought me!
Finishing Techniques for handknitters is one I have been coveting for a long time. It's a brilliant book it has everything in! The handy book of sweater patterns is great too, hopefully during the course of this year i'll manage to design and knit myself a jumper using this as a guide.

Here is what my grandad gave me for Crimbo! How retro eh? Apparently he bought it in the 60's to use when he cleaned his fishing lines. Don't worry, it doesn't smell fishy! It is however a little rusty but it works just fine and means i don't have to make Chris sit with yarn on his hands anymore!

Here's a close up of the inside of the box

Whilst on the retro theme I thought i'd show you this:

This belonged to my late Grandma. It's a leaflet about re-footing knitted socks! This pattern must have been used a hundred times over too, it's completly falling apart! I can't believe she had the patience and courage to take scissors to knitted socks.
Here's a view of the inside showing where to snip!

Notice the obligatory wedding ring on her finger!

Happy New Year

2006-01-06T14:48:00.002Z

Apologies to my readers for the huge gap since my last post ive had a pretty miserable Christmas and haven't really felt up to blogging until now. Unfortunately my Grandma passed away on Boxing day and we spent most of that weekend fearing every phone call as we were expecting it. She was an incredible woman and the most amazing knitter I have ever met. She would not allow my Grandad or her children to wear anything but her knitted socks! During the war she worked in the airforce and helped to fix planes. I always remember her telling me about how whenever they fixed a plane they were made to fly in it the first time it went up to ensure they would do a good job! I miss her dearly but she left us relatively peacefully and i'm very thankful for that. Just before Christmas my other Grandma was taken to hospital as she had a stroke, thankfully she is now recovering well.

Anyway, onto the knitting content..
Behold, a finished 'River' rather sexily lounging on this armchair with Ms Molly.

With everything that happened over Christmas i did manage to finish this in time but never actually got round to posting it. Now that the funeral is over with and i feel more back to normal i really will get it posted! The pattern is highly recommended, very easy and relatively quick too.

And here she is, my lovely new toy! My Ashford traditional wheel! Can you believe i still haven't gotten round to giving this a whirl either. She's looking a little dusty here.. oops!
I was a very lucky lady this year and my other half bought me a ton of knitting books i'd been after for a while. I'll give reveiws once ive absorbed them all fully.

Since i spent most of Christmas knitting gifts for people and finishing the bolero my sister started ages ago and lost interest in. I decided to be selfish! And why not, I deserve it! So with the HipKnits silk i purchased a while back ive decided to join the masses and knit myself clapotis! It looks more light bluish in real life.

4 down 1 more to go!

2005-12-12T18:51:00.000Z

Thats right, im onto my last Giotto scarf! Boy am i bored with that pettern! Luckily the tedium was broken ever so slightly by one of the recipients deciding upon a different colour. Forgetful as ever i forgot to take a photo before that one went to it's new home.

Ive also been trying desperately to get River (Rowan magazine 38)finished as it's intended as a Christmas pressie for my closest friend. I thought she deserved something lacy! The yarn im using is a delicious laceweight mohair i bought from Jeni at Fyberspates ages ago. I think she has plans to make this yarn available in her shop and i can really recommend it! So soft! and the colours are so cheerful they knit up nicely - as you can see.

As with all knitted lace, this looks like a raggy mess right now but i just know it will be absolutely gorgeous when blocked. Cant wait to get it finished, just hope i make it in time. Well if all else fails it's her birthday in February.. im sure it'll be finished by then!

With the money my other half's parents are giving me to get myself something for Christmas ive been hunting ebay for a good bargain spinning wheel. Guess what! I bought one!
It's an Ashford Traditional and i won the auction at £61.00 including postage. The price is quite low as it doesnt seem to come with any extras like niddy noddy or lazy kate. They aren't too expensive though. Cant wait to play with it!

Nameless Gnome!

2005-11-26T00:03:00.000Z

Here is my other distraction from tedious scarve knitting.. i present my Christmas Gnome who is pictured here making friends with the cats.. Trouble is he is nameless! So fellow bloggers, find me a Gnomey name for him!

The pattern for the Christmas Gnome came from a recent issue of Simply Knitting (off the top of my head i think it was issue 8).

The pattern for the scarf although looks identical to Daisy's Misty garden scarf was from the first issue of Simply Knitting.. I love that magazine! Each month there is always more than one pattern i like which is more than can be said for 'Knitting'. Clearly the likes of Rebecca are far superior but simply knitting is readily available in the UK so i like it!
And Iris, i almost had a heart attack when i read the first half of your comment! Good job you were joking!

My gnomey has been consoling me since a rather unfortunate event which took place on Tuesday night.. I had a lovely time knitting in the pub along with Purlpower and a couple of others. Then i headed home unfortunately on entering the metro station i stepped in someone elses vomit.. now normally this would be horrific enough. Sadly it was a tiled floor so i slipped, fell, smacked my knee and ended up sat in someone elses vomit. You can only imagine how deeply unpleasant the feeling of realisation that it was not water you slipped in was. I was very good though, i cleaned myself up and waited till i got home before bursting into tears!
Think i was more upset about the fact that the long cardy i was wearing was 100% wool and would need handwashing! Still life goes on, doesn't it!

In a Spin!

2005-11-23T10:06:00.000Z

I bought a drop spindle kit from getknitted last week! It has been put together by the lovely Jeni at Fyberspates (check out her shop). So below is the progress ive made with it so far. The white stuff was my very first attempt but hopefully the purple looks a little better. Im finding it a little difficult to keep it the same thickness all the way through but im sure i'll get used to it. Jeni's instructions are great and i did find it fairly easy to pick up, i guess it's perfecting that skill that is the real challenge!

I have been playing with my spindle to distract me from the tedium that is knitting the same scarf in the same colourway five times over. Since i first knitted my sisters scarf my mum decided she wanted one, then she wanted one for a girl at the office. Now apparently another girl at the office wants one and Chris anounced he'd like to give his mum one for christmas! (AHHHHHHHH!!) So my mum's is finished and below you can see the progress made on scarf number three (i promise it is a different scarf!) alongside the scarf ive been knitting for myself! I havent knit myself anything in ages so i decided i need a scarf myself!! The yarn is Jo Sharps Silkroad as it was on offer at Getknitted and i love it!

Thankyou Secret Pal!

2005-11-13T16:58:00.000Z

Sorry it's taken me a while to post this! Below are all the wonderful goodies i received from my SP. Can you believe she actually made that pin cushion?? Isnt it fantastic! Go visit her blog, she revealed herself to me prematurely and it seems we have been spoiling each other! I still have a few things to get for your next package but hopefully i wont take as long as i did with the first.

She sent me enough Kid Silk Haze to knit myself my first proper lace project, River. Which i will get right onto.. as soon as ive finished the stack of scarves i have on order! My mother has comissioned me to knit her and her friend a scarf exactly like the one i made my sister. Im going to be sooo sick of that pattern! So far im about two foot into the first scarf.
When i ordered her yarn i bought myself a hank too thinking i could actually made myself a scarf. This is the colour i ordered as it is on the colinette website..

And here is the hank i received... Anyone else spot a difference?

Saturday i attended my first ever 'knit n natter' group! It was great, i got lots of scarf done and met some new people. It was nice to finally meet the lovely Purlpower in person and also Glenda, whose blog i shall be reading from now on!
It seemed like such a novelty to sit and knit with people who understand what it is to lust after yarn. Im used to getting funny looks when i knit in public!

The finished scarf..

2005-11-08T14:38:00.000Z

Well i made it in time to give it to my sister! So here she is modelling it for me.

Looks like i'll be doing another one for my mother too as she kept trying to steal it from my sister.

For anyone interested it is made from one hank of colinette giotto and the pattern is called Lily though im not sure which book its in as i bought the pattern on ebay as part of a kit.

Emily needs....

2005-11-04T23:10:00.000Z

Just spotted this on Lixies blog and thought i'd give it a whirl, you type your first name then 'needs' into google and see what you get.

Emily needs..
* eating companions around noon on wednesday
* almost 24-hour care
* to be told "No"
* to find something that's her own to fulfill her
* to talk to him. If she can get his attention
* Attention
* a place to study
* to work on reading a little extra every night
* to be whipped into shape by Nanny

Interesting.....

Speed Knitting!

2005-11-04T22:52:00.000Z

In answer to the questions regarding the last post, i did a degree in archaeology and ancient history. I would really like to work with museums in the handling of collections etc. Ive applied for various jobs within this field to no avail, im guessing because in alot of cases the positions are filed by internal candidates or by people who have been volunteering. So im going to go to Newcastle Uni and do a masters in museum studies, assuming they let me in! The last job i applied for was a part time library assistant at the uni's library. I thought this would be ideal as i could continue it whilst studying however i havent heard anything back on that front either. Each time i apply for a job i lower my standards of 'ideal job' and each time i hear nothing!

Anyway, on the knitting front im frantically knitting away at a scarf i had promised to knit for my sister. While we were at Ally Pally she chose a hank of Colinette Giotto she like and i said i'd knit her a scarf for the next time i see her. She called yesterday and is coming up for a surprise visit! so ive been knitting alot today! As well as madly tidying as our landlord is coming round to see the flat in the morning. Its about half way through now so i ope to be able to give it to her before she leaves on sunday.

I completely forgot to take a photo of the stitched card i made for my mum.. oops!
Must take some photos of something, i hate blogging without photos!

Im back!

2005-10-25T15:48:00.000+01:00

Apologies for my extended absence since my last post, life has been getting the better of me lately. Unfortunately i did not manage to make the most of the Ally Pally experience.. i caught a bug on the friday and felt really ill whilst touring round the stalls on the saturday. I didnt make it to any of the wonderful workshops and i did not come away with a very satisfying haul. It was uncomfortabley hot in the hall for someone who was feeling sick already so i was bitterly disappointed to leave early. I had dragged my sister along with me and she brought back more exciting bits than i did! I came away with a couple of card making kits and some yummy skeins from the colinette stand. It was amazing to be able to see all the colinette yarn in person!

Apologies to Jeni at fyberspates for not coming and saying hi but by the time i reached getknitted it was absolutely swamped by people and i was in no mood to battle my way through.
Now for my life dilemas..
Since i graduated ive been applying for several jobs, all jobs which ive actually wanted to do but so far i have had not one single interview... I dont get it, i have a degree in a relevant subject area surely i deserve a chance? But no, i lack experience in said subject area.. How does one go about getting the experience i need when no-one will even give me a chance!
Sorry excuse the vent, ive been trying to sort my life out alot lately and its getting to me.
I think ive decided to go back to university and do a masters then at least for the next year i can just find part time work to tide us over.. Plus the masters includes several placements which may be enough experience to satisfy employers.
Im almost finished making one of the cards from the kit i bought so i'll show a pic of the finished article. Its for my mum as its her birthday on sunday.

Excitement!

2005-10-08T12:18:00.000+01:00

My train tickets and and show guide for the Knitting and Stitching show at Ally Pally arrived today. To say im excited is an understatement! There are so many exhibitors! and so many workshops! Now to try and work out how much money i can get away with spending whilst there :)

Finished catbed photos

2005-10-04T15:25:00.000+01:00

Molly was spayed last thursday and she had her mommy worried sick about her! I think she may have been the last one to be done that day and when i picked her up she was very much still drugged up. Normally by the time i pick them up they are fairly coherent but Molly was really bad bless her. For some reason she couldnt physically close her eyes for a long time. In fact i set up camp on the sofa thursday night and waited for her to fall asleep which was only at around 2.00 AM. Then i fell asleep with her, when i woke up in the morning she was still asleep on me. But she was as right as rain the next day i think she just needed to sleep it off but with her eyes not closing she couldnt. Anyway here she is all bald and stitched up but loving her new kitty pi catbed!

Though sometimes the sides flop down and she needs mommy to tuck her in!

For anyone interested the pattern for this catbed is a free pattern courtesy of Wendy over at Wendyknits! I knitted this one in Noro Kureyon but you can use any 100% wool that will felt when you put it through the wash!

Poor Molly!

2005-09-27T09:22:00.000+01:00

Just got back from the vets and the vet decided not to spay her today. Molly had a cut on one of her paws which turned rather nasty over the weekend. The vet took her temp and it was higher than it should be. So poor little molly after having to suffer the indignity of having her temperature taken was then pumped full of antibiotics and told to come back on thursday. Bless her at least she hasn't learned to fight back with the vet like scooter does! He's a nightmare!

P.s. Kitty Pi bed has been through one wash but needs another to be fully felted up so pictures shall be following very soon!

Tagged again!

2005-09-23T15:52:00.000+01:00

1. Go into your archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions.
5. Tag five people to do the same.

'There were times throughout that i started thinking... do i like it, is the ribbing too thick?'

Not sure what the purpose of ths meme is but there you go thats my sentence!

Now... who to tag?
Well if anyone feels the urge to fill in this meme, feel free because i think most people who want to have done so by now.

Onto knitting news: Molly has been testing out her new cat bed before its completion to see if im doing an ok job!
Naughty molly!

I have to indulge the poor thing as im feeling rather guilty. She is booked in for her big operation on tuesday! Poor little thing, i feel awful but the cats protection made me sign something to say i'd have her neutered by the end of this month. I know its for the best but she still so small... Scooter was probably at a similar age when he was done and i remember how much i worried about him.
Well she shall been spoilt silly upon her return!

Hopefully she will also have a fully felted cosy catbed to curl up in when she gets back too as im working the last few rows now.

My first baby project is finished!

2005-09-21T07:50:00.000+01:00

I really enjoyed knitting this jumper, i think it has added appeal because you know someone extremely cute will be wearing it! I did make a slight hash of the hood though. The pattern calls for you to knit the hood on from the front piece (slightly confusing!) but seemingly when the pattern called for me to cast on x stitches for the hood i must have mis-counted and cast on way too many! How this happened i really don't know im normally meticulous about counting and re-counting stitches! Unless anyone had a similar problem with the pattern and it was a mis-print? Doubtful i think.. i must have been tired at the time (any excuse eh?) The pattern for the jumper came from 'simply knitting issue one' but is also in one of debbie bliss's books. I loved knitting with the cashmerino it was just so soft!

The little bunny toy also shown here was an added extra to send with the jumper. Cute aint he? The pattern came from Jean greenhowes 'knitted animals' pattern book. I remember my gran knitting jean greenhowe dolls years ago for jumble sales i always thought they looked so complicated but the patterns are well written and are very simple.
Ages ago i made the little penguin from the same book for chris as a jokey present. His hat and scarf are knitted up in sunderland FC colours, which he rather likes. Maybe i'll take a pic of him to stick in my FO list.. something i keep forgetting to do. It looks like i never finish anything!

SP6 Questionaire

2005-09-14T17:09:00.000+01:00

Apologies to my secret pal for not getting this up sooner!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
Oh how i wish i could be a yarn snob but sadly i cant afford to splash out on the best yarn all the time! I generally prefer to get a mix rather than 100% acrylic though.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
Im trying to get into spinning! im too poor to afford a wheel but im considering investing in a drop spindle. I tried teaching myself to crochet once but got intensly frustrated with it as i was so slow and clumsy, i felt like it would be so much faster to just knit. Perhaps i'll persevere with it.. one day!

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
I have sensitive skin so i have had allergic reacions to some skin products in the past. Plus i dont like smoke.

4. How long have you been knitting?
About 1yr and half maybe.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Wish List

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I like natural scents and aromatherapy and so i love lavender and rose but also citrus too.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Do knitters love yarn? Hell yeah!

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
Nothing really

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
i like the kaiser cheifs, scissor sisters, Greenday, Feeder, Franz Ferdinand and the levellers to name a few.. im fairly versatile in my tastes. Yes i can play MP3's!

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
Generally anything blue except pastels i hate pastel shades. I love vibrant blues greens and purples.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with my boyfriend, i have no kids but two lovely cats (Molly and Scooter)

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
yikes! is it bad that i dont have any? Well i love my archaeology and there are some excavations i'd love to be part of! I guess it would be my dream to be part of a major dig in a nice hot country! But not too hot cos from experience that just kills you when your digging!

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I like chunkier yarns, perhaps thats my impatient side showing through!I love colinette point five. Im also starting to appreciate cotton in a completely new way.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Im really not sure about eyelash yarns and funky fur yarns... they scare me.. no-one should wear items made from these!

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I dont really have a specific knitting obsession really. Knitting is my obsession!

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I dont think i've knitted enough variety of items to decide! I do like small projects like scarves because i like doing them for other people as pressies.

17. What are you knitting right now?
I have just finished my first babies jumper and a little teddy. I also have the cosy shawl from knitty and some opal socks on-going.

18. What do you think about ponchos?
i do have one which my mum gave me, it is a hand knit one which was bought in the 70's though i rarely wear it.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
I think i prefer circulars but i do use both as i dont have a full set of circulars.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Anything but plastic! though i do have a whole box of plastics which were my grans i generally prefer metal or bamboo needles. I dont have any bamboo circulars though, i would like to try them out.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
Ive made a few half-hearted attempts in the past and am now in the middle of some using proper sock yarn. However they are so fiddly i dont think i will knit them very often!

22. How did you learn to knit?
my mum taught me when i was younger then i re-taught myself a year ago.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
A couple of months.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
I love cats, animated or not.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
One of the best holidays i had was my study tour as part of my degree during which i travelled around Greece and Crete looking at archaeological sites. It was amazing and i'd absolutely love to do the same thing again in Egypt.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Except wool? no.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
'Simply Knitting' and i sometimes buy 'Knitting'

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
They ones i'd like are in my wish list. Basically i'd love a good book about lace knitting and a good book about aran knitting!Both techniques i am yet to explore and would really love to!

Knitting progress and presents galore!

2005-09-14T16:36:00.000+01:00

Thankyou to everyone who left comments regarding my question in my last post, perhaps one day i will have my very own spinning wheel but for now i think i will give a drop spindle a go. One question though, top whirl or bottom whirl - whats the difference? which do i get?
Also a big thankyou to all those who have sent me Random acts of kindness! Ive had several e-cards, a gift voucher, notecards and yesterday; an oragami crane! Thankyou so much you have been very kind! Your kindness has spurred me into preparing some little gifties of my own to treat others with.
Anyway onto the knitting! Ive been making steady progress with the babies hooded jumper as you can see (in its pre blocked state).

The front looks a little strange as the hood is knit continuously from the front and then joined so at the moment it looks like a giant collar. Im about ten row from finishing the last sleeve so it should get blocked tonight. I'll be sure to post a picture of it after it is made up.

Secret pal Five has come to a close and with it I received my final parcel from my pal! Thankyou very much Andrea! I must admit, i had guessed your identity correctly. I am in the habit of re-using padded envelopes and when your first package arrived i pulled my address label off to reuse it and found that you had done the same thing. So i found out your name and where you came from, giving me a pretty good idea of who you were. I didnt want to say anything in case i was completely wrong! Thankyou so much for spoiling me so well! For everyone else here are the contents of that last parcel.

Even the kitties got a present! Molly loves the toys and scooter pretends to be too mature for toys but he still shows some interest from time to time. The ball is absolutely perfect, we have loads of small balls which they love to play with but they inevitably get lost under the sofa! This ball is big enough not to do that which is great.
The tape measure is exactly what i needed too, i only have a long dress makers tape which when i take it with me i get it tangled round everything. The tape measure you gave me is perfect for carrying round! (how did you know??)

My lapsing attention span

2005-08-31T19:08:00.000+01:00

Well the snaps of Rome never materialised.. im sorry. I didnt take my digital and dont have the scanner set up to copy the others. So instead i bring you proof that i do have two cats and not just one and that they have started to accept each other - dont they look cute?

I must say, my enthusiasm for knitting has slipped in the past few weeks which i guess is the real reason for my lack of posts, ive simply had nothing to show you! I discovered that it was my current projects that were letting me down. Cosy shawl is beautiful but has become terribly repetative! So a new project was in order!
And here it is:

This cute little hoody was in the first issue of simply knitting and i loved it from the first time i saw it but i unfortunately dont know any babies to knit for. So an online friend is very kindly letting me knit it for her daughter. It is just the project i need to get me back into knitting again! the cashmerino is so soft! I must point out that the colour is not as grey as it looks in the photo, its more a light blue. I hafd hoped it would be more lilac but i ordered it online and unfortunately colours can look so different. Anyway i like the colour still and i hope she will too.
Behold my second new project to gear me on, yes its another kitty pi bed! This time made from what was left of my stash of Noro Kureyon. That pack of wool has done me proud, i have a tanktop, a bag and now a catbed out of it. Anyway, hee is its progress:

Finally i end with a question of sorts or at least a request for advice! Chris asked me what i wanted for christmas the other day.. out of the blue i said ' a spinning wheel' i wasnt being completely serious, its one of those things i'd love to have some day. He responded by asking how much they were..
This is where i become completely clueless, how much are spinning wheels? what kind would i get? Which is best for a complete beginner?
If anyone of you spinners out there has advice for someone buying a wheel for the first time having never spun before please leave a comment, it would be much appreciated! You never know santa may be extra kind to me this year..

Im having a bad day!

2005-08-23T19:29:00.000+01:00

Apologies to those who read my blog for the huge gap since my last post! I meant to post before i left but forgot. Last week i was in Rome with my mother! I had a wonderful time and had intended to spent today showing you lovely photos but i have had an utterly terrible day and i didnt have time.
Today i was helping my mother take some garden rubbish to the local tip because i have more boot space than she does. I went by to do it today because i had a dentists appointment in the area anyway. Upon arriving at the tip we realised i had a flat tire... So the AA were called and a lovely man took the spare out and changed it for me. He also kindly pointed out that the spare was in fact going bald and needed replacing. So i decided to hurry to the garage before my appointment. The mechanic took the flat tire off me and told me since i'd been driving on it flat it was 'knackered'. So he will have to replace that one and when it is fixed he will swap it for my baldy spare. Long story short i need two new tires..
So with this news i hurried onto my dentists appointment fearing i was going to be late. I arrived to be told my appointment was in fact for yesterday.

Excuse me while i go and pour myself a large glass of wine...

Ive been tagged

2005-07-29T11:51:00.000+01:00

This seems to be going round alot lately, dont know if there is anyone left for me to tag! OK really had to wrack my brains for this!!

id·i·o·syn·cra·sy
Pronunciation Key
n. pl. id·i·o·syn·cra·sies
A structural or behavioral characteristic peculiar to an individual or group.

Write down five of your own personal idiosyncracies. Then, if you wish, tag five people from your live gerbil or friendslist to do the same.

1) I have trouble telling the time! When i was young my parents didnt teach me how to tell the time thinking it was something i would learn in school. I then had a hideously embarrassing lesson where my teacher asked who could tell the time and i was the only person who didnt raise their hand. Consequently i went home and made my parents feel supremely guilty.
However i think this has left a permenant scar and whenever asked the time i always have to stare at my watch a while before it hits me.

2)I treat my cats like children! My cats are my little babies and now im living with chris we act like a little family. In fact Chris is often greeted home from work with the phrase, 'your daughter peed on the carpet again today!' or something similar.

3)I hate putting clothes away! I dont mind doing washing, hell i dont even mind doing ironing but what i really cant stand is putting clothes away! I cant bear it and for no sensible reason. Consequently most of my clothes get slung on a chair and they pile up until i simply cant deal with it anymore. At that point i'd rather throw them back in the wash than actually have to hang them up.

4)Im incredibly self-conscious! Especially about my hair for some reason. I have thick curly hair which unfortunately has a distinct tendancy to frizz. I never like how my hair looks and i always worry rediculous amounts about how i look when i meet new people.

5)Im so lazy! I never get round to doing things until last minute. This applies to housework, paying bills... everything, im a very lazy person. I still haven unpacked all my stuff and i moved into this place a month ago!!

There you go!
And now i tag, Mooknits, Minxxy, Scarfomatic and Knit Stitches
I know a couple of these people are on their holidays so dont worry if you cant be bothered to do it at all!

Photo's Galore!

2005-07-28T17:12:00.001+01:00

Many apolagies i have been away for such a long time Chris was off work last week so we had a very busy week sorting things out in the flat! We have shelves in the kitchen and the study! Anyway!
I muxt share with you the lovely yarn and ribbon i received by way of trade from Becky as i sent her some stitch markers. Sorry its taken me such a long time to get this pic up! thankyou Becky!

My next big THANKYOU goes out to Jeni over at Fyberspates. When i was feeling very low as i'd just lost Pixel i received many many kind words from all you bloggers for which im forever grateful. Jeni very kindly offered to send me something to make me smile. And smile i did when this fell through my letterbox this morning! Two skeins of her gorgeous sock yarn! Which is now being stocked over at 'Get knitted' Go and check it out because the choice of colours are just amazing!

Jeni's sock wool is so nice it makes me want to start some socks right away! Unfortunately i'd already cast on some opal socks (below):( So im going to have to get these finished first. But what an incentive!

Here is my other knitting which is progressing slowly but im finding this one quite enjoyable to knit, i thought i'd have gotten sick of the pattern by now but im not.

Here's my Cosy Shawl!

And finally how can i end without showing you another photo of this darling kitty! You must think im terribly neglectful of our other cat since i never show picures of him. Unfortunately he hates me at the moment as im the evil one who brought in the new girl and who took him to the vet against his will. Its annoying because while i had no batteries in the camera i actually caught the two of them snuggled up on the sofa together! but couldnt take a photo!! Well at least progress has been made! I know he loves her really.

And a brief note to PurlPower who tagged me! I will get round to doing it but this post has already gone on way too long.

Vote Molly!

2005-07-19T13:39:00.000+01:00

Hey there folks the cute cat contest has officially started so if Molly has any fans out there go vote for her here!

Sorry there has been no posting in a while, Chris is off work this week so we're having a major flat sort out involving spending oodles of money in ikea! So sadly very little knitting can be acomplished. Plus i still havent replaced the batteries in the camera to show you any progress. Must remember to get more!

Graduation

2005-07-14T17:29:00.000+01:00

Well im back and ive officially graduated now! A black gown and hat is certainly not appropriate attire for weather like this! Despite the lack of a picture I actually like, I shall share one with you. No laughing! Sorry its so far away my sister took it and she isnt great witha camera.
My mum and I drove down to Birmingham in the car so I could pick up the last of my stuff and I discovered that driving through spaghetti junction isn't half as scary as it looks! So when she took over the driving I did a bit of sock knitting with my opal sock yarn. I didn't make too much progress, but i like them. I'll get a pic posted soon but the batteries are dead in the camera at the moment.
Daisy asked what sort of wire I used for the stitch markers, it is that green bendy stuff. I guess normal people probably use it to tie back their rose bushes but us knitters are a resourceful bunch.
Anyway i had better get back to the mountain of washing and the large amounts of junk which desperately needs a home.

My crafty sunday!

2005-07-11T11:16:00.000+01:00

First of all i thought i'd post a pic of the sewing box my aunt gave me for my birthday, i really love it!

Anyway, on to the crafty part! After reading a post about stitch markers at Becky's blog Mooknits I found myself in Focus with Chris buying paint (to cover up the section of wall he ruined with masking tape). Whilst in there inspiration hit! so i hunted around for some wire and ended up with garden wire and then i looked for some small pliers/wire cutters. As soon as i got home i dug out my collection of beads and the results are what you see below!!

These ones are done with various colours of painted wooden beads.

These ones i used plastic spakly beads

These ones i made the loop a bit bigger for using with chunkier needles!

It was alot of fun making them and im going to be making some more today! Im going to send some to Becky so that she can finish her clapotis. If anyone else wants to make a trade let me know!

With my sisters scarf finished i needed another small transportable project so i started knitting some socks with some Opal sock yarn ive had in my stash for ages. My first foray into the world of sock knitting didnt go too well but i'd like to think that my knitting skills have improved since then. So the sock knitting shall be accompanying me to Birmingham tomorrow! My mum and i are driving down for my graduation ceremony which is on the wednesday morning. So when i get a break from driving i hope to be trucking along with sock number one!

I had both Molly and Scooter to the vets this morning, him because i was worried he had an ear infection (which he didnt) and her because she was overdue her first vaccination. Both cats are now lying under the bed sulking! He was terrible and kept trying to bite the vet but she was as good as gold even though she was terrified, bless her. She didnt even squeek when the vet stuck the needle in!

Anyway, i'll be away for the next two days so perhaps on thursday you'll be treated to a picture of me in cap and gown feeling daft!

Birthday package from SP

2005-07-09T19:56:00.000+01:00

I had a really nice 21st birthday, thankyou to those who sent their best wishes! One of the best bits was the surprise package from my secret pal. Sadly i forgot to take a picture of the contents at the time so the chocolates and wine are ummm.... unavailable for photographing shall we say! Also included was a box of delicious raspberry and echinacea tea, a copy of a girl with a pearl earring a lovely card and the wool you see modelled again by Molly below! You can tell she's a show off already, look at that cute pose.

And here is another sleepy kitten shot, they can sleep in the most unusual positions cant they?!

I have entered Molly in Lucia's 'Cutest cat contest' If you want to vote for Molly or any of the other cats entered do so at this Ballot page! Ive been advised to try explain why i think Molly deserves the cutest cat award but im sure people can judge for themselves just by looking at the silly moggy sprawled and sleepy.

Ive finally finished the feather and fan stitch scarf i started for my sisters birthday. It is currently blocking on my carpet as i wanted to stretch it out a little longer. Cosy shawl is creeping along in length and poor lucky seems to have been abandoned again... we just dont seem to get along lucky and i!

What a Day...

2005-07-07T13:53:00.000+01:00

I was going to blog all about my 21'st birthday yesterday and the fabulous parcel i received from my secret pal but in light of todays events i feel that its rather poor taste.
Sadly today will become a very memorable day and for all the wrong reasons. My heart goes out to anybody who is living in London, I hope that both you and your family and friends are ok.
Luckily my sister who lives in London has been taking her school kids on a field trip this week and is safe. After an hour of trying to get through i got in touch with her partner and he is also fine and is planning to walk home from work for fear of going anywhere near public transport.

All my hopes and best wishes are with you London-based bloggers today... stay safe.

Bargain stash enhancement!

2005-07-02T15:57:00.000+01:00

Here is the little one showing you the bargain i picked up in fenwicks yesterday!

I had a little rumage in the reduced bin and found one ball of rowan's ribbon twist in ripple and one ball of rowan's biggy print in allsorts. They were 99p each! For the simple reason that their ball bands were missing! Now how can a girl resist? In fact my more devious side started thinking.. could i sneakily pull the bands off a couple more balls and pass them off as being in the clearance bin! Sadly i have morals.

I had ducked into the store only to pass time as i was waiting for Chris to finish work. We went to the theatre! It was part of my treat from him for my birthday on wednesday. We saw the Reduced Shakespeare Company do the complete works of shakespeare and it was hilarious!! If you havent already seen these guys you really must!! I really dont think i have ever seen something which made me laugh that much. They also do the complete american history and the complete bible, both of which i'd quite like to see.

Having a lazy day today, watching live 8 and knitting cozy which has grown a few inches since i last posted a pic.

Catnip Cushions

2005-06-28T17:06:00.000+01:00

Thought i'd show you the cat nip cushion i knitted up then felted for Molly, well it's a good excuse to post more pictures of her anyway!

And after a long session of rubbing her face against it and generally trying to destroy it she fell asleep... on a box of treats i'd left lying out. Think that is a hint?

She's settling in better and better each day but at the moment my paranoias are creeping into my dreams. The past few nights ive been plagued by dreams in which something awful happens to Molly. I know it's just because of what happened with Pixel but every morning at around 6.00 AM i wake up and go in search of her around the flat just to make sure she is ok. She always is of course so hopefully it will pass soon and i can get a good nights sleep!

Here She is..

2005-06-27T14:55:00.000+01:00

Well here is the little cutie, ive kinda been putting off posting a picture of her as i dont want to jinx her. She was very nervous when i first brought her home she wouldnt let us go near her but we have made a lot of progress over the weekend. She doesnt like being picked up or held very much but she purrs her little heart out when you stroke her. She now comes over to us for attention instead of hiding! She plays constantly and loves to pounce on our other cat scooter, he isnt so impressed by this!
This is the reason ive hardly managed to do any knitting over the weekend, she keeps pouncing on my needle ends as they move! Either that or she attacks the ball of wool! I did get a small project for her underway though... She has pretty much destroyed the catnip toy i made for scooter so i decided i should make another one out of tougher material. So i have loosely knit up a rectangle of knitting to chuck in the washing machine to felt. I figured it might be a more durable fabric for her destructive little kitten claws! I'll let you know how that one goes when it's finished.
On the name front, thankyou for all the suggestions but it seems as if Molly has stuck. Even though i wanted to call her daisy.. chris doesnt like that one.

Cosy shawl

2005-06-23T09:15:00.000+01:00

Here is my progress with the cosy shawl (pattern from knitty). The pattern uses 100% silk but instead i decided to make it thicker and warmer so i used Rowan yorkshire Tweed which is a really nice wool, i love tweedy yarns.

This is a close up of the feather stitch pattern. Im going to stretch it out a bit in the blocking process though because i think it will show off the pattern better.
close up

Im hoping it's going to be perfect for those summer evenings when its getting cooler and you still want to be outside. Its such beautiful weather at the moment i doubt it will be needed for a while yet which is probably a good thing as its no-where near finished yet.

Thankyou for the name suggestions i received. Im picking her up tomorrow and we've deicided to wait and see what she's like a bit more before we name her. Perhaps try out the variety of suggestions and see which one she responds to best!

Names

2005-06-17T12:02:00.000+01:00

We went to see the selection of kittens the lady from the cats protection was caring for and oh my god do i envy her. She had about 15 from about three different litters running around. they were so active, jumping on everything and each other. They were adorable! We picked out a little tabby and white queen who will be ready to be rehomed next friday. I fell in love with a little ginger stripey tom but chris doesnt like ginger cats :( I dont understand why. So our problem is now, what to name her! we hadn't thought we'd get a girl and we'd had the name pixel picked out for ages but i dont feel like we can re-use the name that would be denying his existance altogether. At the moment we have Molly as our favourite suggestion But if anyone can think of anything better leave a comment with your suggestion.

I have started the cosy shawl now, i'll try to remember to post a pick at some point.

Moving On

2005-06-15T14:11:00.000+01:00

I received a letter this morning from the shelter we got pixel from. He enclosed a refund of the donation i gave and a little note.. He explained that pixel had been found in a certain area of newcastle which had a particularly high risk of FIV and FLV (feline aids and lukemia). If he knew this why didnt he at least tell me, or get the kittens checked?! He makes me very cross and he obviously felt guilty as he returned my cheque even though i said to keep it.

But we're moving on from our grievances once again i am ignoring his offer of a kitten free of charge and today i received a visit from a fosterer who works for the Cats Protection. She came to meet me and to check out our home to ensure we would be suitable to take one of her kittens. Chris gets in from work around six so we're going straight to hers to have a look at the kittens. She has a few which will be ready for rehoming next week.

In other news i graduated from my degree with a 2:2 which was slightly disappointing but at least its all over now.

Thankyou

2005-06-14T13:16:00.000+01:00

Thankyou so much to those who left such kind comments, hearing from you really helped.
The past couple of days have been very hard but pixel was clearly not right from the very beginning, i had just hoped that it was the fleas and worms making him ill and once we'd eliminated them he'd be fine. Unfortunately it seems as though he obviously had something rather more sinister, either lukemia or a heart defect. As it was 7.00 o clock in the morning on a sunday we couldnt get him to vet as the only one available was on the other side of newcastle and we knew he wouldnt make the journey. Watching a seven week old kitten die is one of the hardest things ive ever had to do.

Chris took me to a wool shop yesterday to try and cheer me up, it was one i had seen advertised in simply knitting. I came home with enough wool to start the Cosy shawl from knitty. I thought i'd jump on the 'summer of lace' bandwagon. It helped to get out of the house as every little thing reminds me of him and what he went through.

I called the shelter i got pixel from yesterday thinking the owners of the other kittens from the same litter may want to be informed but he didnt seem very concerned. He offered me my donation back or another kitten free of charge by way of apology. It seems like his shelter is more of a business than a charitable organisation. I am not very impressed with him at all, especially since he told he the kittens were all checked by a vet and any vet worth his salt would have at least de-flead and de-wormed them. Needless to say i did not take him up on his offer.

Instead i rang the Cats Protection branch in Newcastle and subject to a home visit they will put us on a list to receive another kitten from them. They de-flea de-worm and blood test all the kittens they get so you know that your getting a healthy cat from them. I couldnt bear go through what happened to pixel again so we've decided not to risk the shelters anymore and only take one from them. Its frustrating because we dont feel particularly ready to take on another kitten so soon but the cats protection will only rehome to people who have someone at home duing the day to help them settle in. As im not working yet now is the ideal time.

And finally, an apology to my secret pal, i received your first parcel on saturday and i absolutely love it! thankyou! im so sorry i havent been in touch to thank you sooner! For everyone else, here are the contents of that parcel! Apologies that the pic is so dark i took it last night.

A very black sunday

2005-06-13T09:47:00.000+01:00

Sadly Pixel got very ill early yesterday morning and passed away.

R.I.P. Pixel..

Mass Update!

2005-06-09T11:24:00.000+01:00

Ok in knitting news i have restarted the lucky clover wrap which is shown below. It seems to be going a lot better this time, that is if you ignore the fairly obvious fact that my top row of clovers in the picture are one stitch too far to the left... But im hoping that as is at the bottom on the back you wont ever notice it!

And here is the progress ive made with my sister's scarf which by all rights should be finished by now except i have been very distracted by the little someone featured in the following pics..

Here is some gorgeous lace weight mohair which i purhcased from Fyberspates.

And here is the distraction i was referring to! His name is Pixel and he is 7weeks old, i picked him up from a cat shelter on monday. Isnt he adorable?

We've had a few teething problems with the little guy though.. Firstly our other cat scooter is afraid of him which makes no sense at all. Poor pixel keeps bounding up to him to say hello and scooter just runs away. Secondly he was quite heavily covered in fleas (much to my horror) and rather annoyingly all flea products cant be used on kittens below 12 weeks. But i was assured by a pet shop owner that if used very sparingly he should be ok. So ive been powdering him and going through his fur with a flea comb which is pretty much just a nit comb. Anyway i think i finally havethat one under control. However our third issue is the fact that he is not litter trained and seems to only like going on soft things.. i.e. our bed. However with much encouragement i woke up this morning to find he had used the tray and i was thrilled to say the least!
And here's another piccie, isnt he tiny!! Expect to see lots more pics in the near future!

Im Home!!!

2005-06-04T11:49:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post from my new home here in newcastle! It is so damn good to be home. Chris has been a very good boyfriend and while ive been away a multitude of DIY has been acomplished! Our first place together is now looking really good and right now im feeling so positive about the rest of my life, i cant wait! He even bought me wine and my favourite flowers to celebrate me being home at last!

Now all i need is a job....

First contact with my secret pal!

2005-06-02T10:51:00.000+01:00

Look at the picture which was on the yahoo ecard my secret pal sent me! Isnt it adorable?

My exam seemed to go well yesterday but instead of getting drunk like a typical student i cane home and fell asleep i was so exhausted! I dont think ive had a good nights sleep in weeks because ive been worrying but as of yesterday it was all officially over with and i guess im no longer a student! which is a scary thought!
So this evening i will be sat on a train heading back up to newcastle, i cant wait to be home! Im going to stay with my mum and dad tonight and tomorrow before heading back to my flat cos i havent seen them in ages.
My sisters scarf is progressing slowly but now my exams are over im free to knit without feeling guilty and if i knit solidly on the train i'll probably get it finished!

SP5 Questionaire

2005-05-30T19:12:00.000+01:00

I dont know who my sp5 pal is yet but since i know other people do and lots of people have posted their questionaires already i thought i better get mine up!

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
Oh how i wish i could be a yarn snob but sadly i cant afford to splash out on the best yarn all the time! I generally prefer to get a mix rather than 100% acrylic though.

2. Do you spin? Crochet?
Im trying to get into spinning! im too poor to afford a wheel but im considering investing in a drop spindle and giving it a whirl... so to speak! I tried teaching myself to crochet once but got intensly frustrated with it as i was so slow and clumsy, i felt like it woud be so much faster to just knit. Perhaps i'll persevere with it.. one day!

3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
I have sensitive skin so i have had allergic reacions to some skin products in the past. When i was little i got my face painted and i found i was allergic to them, my entire face swelled up! It was not a pretty sight! Plus i dont like smoke.

4. How long have you been knitting?
Not very long really, about a year maybe.

5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
I do now! Wish List

6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I like natural scents and aromatherapy and so i love lavender and rose but also citrus too.

7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Do knitters love yarn? Hell yeah!

8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
Nothing really

9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
i like the kaiser cheifs, scissor sisters, Greenday, Feeder, Franz Ferdinand and the levellers to name a few.. im fairly versatile in my tastes. Yes i can play MP3's!

10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
Generally anything blue except pastels i hate pastel shades. I love vibrant blues greens and purples. Especially a blue green mix.

11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with my boyfriend, i have no kids but one adorable little kitty!

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
yikes! is it bad that i dont have any? Well i love my archaeology and there are some excavations i'd love to be part of! I guess it would be my dream to be part of a major dig in a nice hot country! But not too hot cos from experience that just kills you when your digging!

13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I like chunkier yarns, perhaps thats my impatient side showing through!I love colinette point five. Im also starting to appreciate cotton in a completely new way.

14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Im really not sure about eyelash yarns and funky fur yarns... they scare me.. no-one should wear items made from these!

15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
I dont really have a specific knitting obsession really. Knitting is my obsession!

16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
I dont think i've knitted enough variety of items to decide! I do like small projects like scarves because i like doing them for other people as pressies.

17. What are you knitting right now?
Right now i have a jumper in progress for my boyfriend, a scarf i think im going to gift to my sister and the lucky clover wrap from stitch and bitch nation which seems to have had its progress halted temporarily.

18. What do you think about ponchos?
i do have one which my mum gave me, it is a hand knit one which was bought in the 70's though i rarely wear it.

19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
I think i prefer circulars.

20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
Anything but plastic! though i do have a whole box of plastics which were my grans i generally prefer metal or bamboo needles.

21. Are you a sock knitter?
im trying! i knit fy first sock a while back and it was too small for my foot so i tried again and knit a sock which was way too big. Since then ive been too afraid to try again. Ive bought some proper sock yarn now though so when i find out how to make a sock which will fit round my huge ankles i shall try again!

22. How did you learn to knit?
my mum taught me when i was younger then i re-taught myself a year ago.

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
A couple of months.

24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
I love cats, animated or not.

25. What is your favorite holiday?
One of the best holidays i had was my study tour as part of my degree during which i travelled around Greece and Crete looking at archaeological sites. It was amazing and i'd absolutely love to do the same thing again in Egypt.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Except wool? no.

27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
'Simply Knitting' and i sometimes buy 'Knitting'

28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
They ones i'd like are in my wish list. Basically i'd love a good book about lace knitting and a good book about aran knitting!Both techniques i am yet to explore and would really love to!

And there you go!
Next exam on Wednesday which will be my last ever exam and will mark the end of my degree! Woo!

Ooohh cashmere...

2005-05-28T14:01:00.000+01:00

Well with the completion of my bag i was faced with a decision, to return to the clover wrap or find another small project to fill time with. Of course i went with the latter. So yesterday i trekked into town to browse wool. The project i had in mind was the simple scarf from Simply knitting issue one, the article was all about how one scarf can look completely different using three completely different types of wool. I intially decided to use rowan kid silk classic but when i got there i found they had a very limited range of colours so i browsed for something else. In the end i picked up a few balls of Rowan's Cashcotton in the lovely colour you see below!

Ive never used this yarn before but fell in love with it as soon as i picked it up, its soo soft!! I'd originally planned to put this scarf to one side and gift it to my sister as its her birthday in july. However the more this scarf progresses the more i get the feeling i may have to make two. Hey it's my birthday in july too!

In other news, my sister drove up from london to pick up loads of my stuff to take it to newcastle for me yesterday. Which is really exciting because it means im finally going home soon!!
Anyway, im going back to knitting my scarf, i love knitting it because i love this yarn so much!

Post-Felting!

2005-05-26T17:09:00.000+01:00

Well here is my Booga Bag in all its felted glory. It looks really huge in the picture, i guess i probably should have put something next to it for scale. I am really chuffed with it! I took it for it's first public appearance when i went to my exam today.

My exam went well, luckily my favourite topics came up in the questions so im fairly pleased and confident about this one.
I shall leave you with the two essay questions i answered in my exam...

Assess the significance of the human decay process in locating clandestine burials..
and
Assess the potential value of environmental evidence (eg pollen, entomology, soils etc) in searching for and recovering buried murder victims..
Answers on a postcard please!

Pre-felted Bag

2005-05-25T20:59:00.000+01:00

Ok here is my Booga bag pre-felting!

Ive actually felted it since taking this picture and it looks really good but i'll post a picture of the finished article once it has finished blocking and ive fixed the i-cord in place! I thought i was going to have to wash it a few times but i threw it in this afternoon with some towels on a 60 degree wash and it came out pretty much done! I dont think i'll have to wash it again as i think if i did it would come out tiny! the amount it shrank already! I cant wait to show you!

Next exam is tomorrow... so any positive vibes you have going spare i would be grateful if you could send them my way!!

Can you tell what it is yet?

2005-05-24T12:11:00.000+01:00

Well, can you?

Since the tanktop only used four skeins of Noro i still had six left to play with! I fancied playing around with a small project and then i remembered this pattern from Black Sheep Bags. The last time i felted something was when i made the cat bed for Oscar and it was quite good fun. Plus the way Noro colurs all smoosh together when felted looks really funky. I started this yesterday and whilst it doesnt look like much in this picture im hoping it'll look great once felted. Cant wait to show you the finished result!

A Finished Object! Thats new!

2005-05-22T20:09:00.000+01:00

I havent updated in ages but i have been taking random photos of the tanktop so you can see the finishing touches all in one go!

This is how it was looking after i'd finished the front and back pieces. Matching the colours either side of the V was a bitch i can tell you! I really do not know what i was thinking using Noro for this project!

And after i'd finished the neck and one armhole..

Et Voila! Here it is in all its finished glory! well.. as long as you dont look inside its finished. I have the worlds supply of ends inside to try and sort out. Plus it does need blocking to flatten the ribbed neck edging.

As this tanktop has been progressing ive gone from loving the wool and loving the tanktop design to being not very sure about it at all.. So we'll see have to wait and see how much light of day it see's. Im just not sure about the frequency of the stripes i feel it makes me look frumpy! Hence the lack of a picture of me modelling it!

In other news my exam on monday was awful and i may not have even passed... Roll on the next one.. which is thursday by the way, so if i disappear into a black hole again for a week you know it didnt go well!

More Leftovers

2005-05-16T20:31:00.000+01:00

Thought i'd give you a peak at how the leftover tank is coming along! Speeding along with it quite nicely!

On the whole knitting this has been quite mindless as the main part of the body is worked in the round. I seperated the front and the back today to shape the armholes and i think its looking quite good. Plus keeping the stripes the correct width past the armholes isnt as fiddly as i thought it might be. I have to tie in different colours here and there but its not a big problem, im collecting little piles of various different shades to mix in..

I had a lovely weekend with Chris and wish he didnt have to go back so soon but i know its only a few weeks now till im back at home with him. Who knows by then i may even have a job! but lets not get too carried away...
My first exam is tomorrow and i dont feel like ive done anywhere near enough work but well im just going to have to wait and see what sort of questions come up. Send me good luck vibes from 2pm onwards!!! Its a 3hr exam :( i guess thats what i get for doing an arts degree.

Leftovers anyone?

2005-05-13T15:09:00.000+01:00

Finally ive got some knitting to show you! This is my leftover tanktop which im knitting with noro kureyon.

It seemed to take forever to finish the ribbing as the pattern says to use two strands of yarn for the rib and it was destroying my hands trying to knit it! It was just so stiff! There were times throughout that i started thinking... do i like it, is the ribbing too thick? but i have persevered and im hoping that its going to look right once its finished. Perhaps the black yarn i used was a little too heavy, in retrospect i think i may have liked it better if it wasn't as thick, I know my hands would have preferred it! Oh the sigh of relief when the pattern said next round reduce to one strand of yarn! Then came the excitement of tying on my first skein of Noro oh how I love this wool! However I fear I may start to get a bit anal about the thickness of stripes when joining on a new skein.. We'll see, I haven't got that far yet. It is progressing a lot quicker now that im onto the main body of the work. That sad excuse for a stitch marker is a piece of chopped up straw as I don't own any proper stitch markers :( When I have more time perhaps I'll learn how to make them.

Chris is arriving in a couple of hours to visit for the weekend and I cant wait! So probably very little knitting will get done ;)

How WOOL saved my degree!

2005-05-10T20:09:00.000+01:00

I set my alarm for 7.00 AM this morning to do some last minute preparation for the presentation unfortunately i neglected to specify between am and pm! and it didnt go off. I only got to sleep at about 2.30 so i definately wouldnt have woken up in time on my own. But at 7.30 the doorbell rang! the postie came delivering my latest parcel of wool! and if he hadnt done so i dont want to even think about what would have happened!
The strangest thing is that the postie normally comes at around 10.00am these days and all of a sudden when i really needed to be woken up at 7.30 am he arrives really early! bizarre! perhaps wool is bringing good karma into my life or something...
And here are the contents of that wonderful parcel!

Anyway as for the presentation, it seemed to go without a hitch and they were some people who's were clearly better than me but there were also people who were worse so i feel confident in my averageness! Having said that one of my mates sneaked a peek at one of the markers score sheets after mine and saw that he had given me 67% which is wicked cos its a high 2:1 and im very chuffed with that.

Ok now im panicking!

2005-05-09T23:46:00.000+01:00

I have an assessed presentation at 9.00AM and im scared!!! My lovely physics studying housemate kindly sat and worked out how much of my entire degree this one presentation counted towards.... One sixth!! That may not seem a lot to you but right now it seems like a scarily large amount to me! Especially when its almost midnight and I haven't prepared my prompt yet or even read it through once! My powerpoint is finished as is my handout so maybe I'll get some sleep tonight. If I can! I get myself so worked up about these things! So I thought I'd come on here and have a bit of a vent about it all. I apologise to anyone out there who reads my blog.
No doubt if i cant sleep a little stocking stitch will soothe my nerves, so ive left it by my bed just in case.

Wish me luck!!

Did someone let a frog in?

2005-05-08T11:39:00.000+01:00

Lucky and i have had a falling out... Ive started the lace pattern about four times now and each time it has resulted in me ripping her off the needles! The first couple of times i was just getting used to the pattern and making stupid mistakes. But then when i thought i'd finally cracked it i realised the top hole of my clovers were off to one side and in completely the wrong place! So ive ripped it yet again and slung it to one side for now. Maybe once this presentation is over with i'll have the patience to sit down with lucky and start over. I shall not be beaten! Not by lucky anyway..

I also blame lucky for the order i placed with dragon yarns yesterday... she drove me to it!!
I bought some black wool so i can start the leftover tanktop and something else accidently fell into my shopping basket.. but i'll show you that when it arrives.

P.s. Sign up for secret pal 5!

My Noro Kureyon arrived!!!

2005-05-06T16:07:00.000+01:00

My Noro Kureyon arrived!!!

And i just love it! It's the most money i have ever spent on wool before so please excuse the over-excitment.
I still think i want to knit a tank with it but im not so sure about using some of the grey for the trim anymore. I think the colours are just too vibrant. Perhaps just black edging...
Well i have plenty of time to sit and stare at it lovingly before i commit to anything because i have two projects on the go already, an assessed presentation on tuesday then three exams after that! yikes!

Progress Report

2005-05-05T20:40:00.000+01:00

Heeeeeeeeere's Lucky!

Well my book finally arrived so i decided to cast on and do a couple of rows of the lucky clover wrap in between revision. The reason behind the extreme close up was i was trying to get a picture which showed the true colour of the yarn a bit better as the last one i took made it luck a dull navy and it is a lot nicer blue than that. Honest.

And some progress with the monster too!

Yes Chris's monster jumper is coming along slowly. It's going to be nice to have some mindless stocking stitch to do when im not concentrating hard on the lucky wrap!

Apologies for the absence of any ring pics today the server which hosts them is down.

Jealousy

2005-05-02T22:40:00.000+01:00

The USA seem to have the most amazing yarn shops! I havent seen anything in the UK that could even attempt to rival these stores. For example when my boyfriend and i moved we spotted a shop called 'bits and bobbins' on the high street. I got all excited and we went to investigate. I walked in to find a scary lady sat knitting behind the counter, and overall a very bland and uninviting shop. So i headed to the dusty corner containing the wool. Rather unsurprisingly the only choice available was the colour and amount you wanted your 100% acrylic wool in. Even worse when i snuck a glance at what the lady was knitting i saw that she was using Rowan wool! and she didnt even stock it. Here in Birmingham the only place i know to buy wool is a small section in Beaties which only stretches to Rowan and Sirdar. When i see pictures of American stores im so jealous there are masses of different brands of yarn and i hear stories of their friendly atmosphere where people sit and knit. Why cant i find a knitting haven! Perhaps im merely not looking hard enough.. but for now i guess im doomed to buy yarn over the web if i want something other than Rowan.

Review - Simply Knitting 2

2005-04-29T22:19:00.000+01:00

Yet again im very impressed with Simply Knitting. All the patterns are interesting and cater for everything! my favourite being the wrap in kidsilk haze. It has very interesting articles and fun competitions which i am a sucker for. Hey if i won i'd get more yarn for my stash! not that i really have one im so poor! I really like their diary which features various different knitting events which will be occurring around the country this month. In fact there is going to be a Bags 2 Knit workshop in Beatties in Birmingham which is my LYS... should i go? I really like the rowan cotton cardi pattern, it will definately go in the file. And if anyone is looking for a knitting club they include a section where clubs can advertise their local meeting place. Overall it makes for a good afternoon read with patterns i shall definately be keeping!

Oops...

2005-04-29T13:26:00.000+01:00

oops... i went to town and just look what happened!

The Sirdar cotton is what i shall be using for my lucky clover wrap when the pattern finally arrives! It wasnt exactly the colour i wanted but it was so much cheaper than the rowan 4ply cotton. I am a student after all. In order to find out how much i needed to buy i had to go into a book shop and find a copy of stitch and bitch nation. It was during this process that i accidently picked up the stitch and bitch guide too.... ah well. I also picked up the new issue of simply knitting which i shall give a review of once ive had a chance to sit down and read it.

It's a monster!

2005-04-27T19:43:00.000+01:00

The back of Chris's huuuuuuge jumper is done! whew!

It is scarily large! but he wants it big, i just hope it isnt too big! Anyway it may have to be put on hold for a little while since my Noro should be arriving soon and ive decided to knit the leftover tanktop from knitty which is designed by Alison of the Blue Blog. Even though technically im not using leftovers i have hunted for a nice tanktop pattern for ages and this one is the nicest shape. I may even steal a ball or two from the jumper wool to use for the edging.

Ive also joined the Lucky Clover knit along because ive been eyeing up similar wraps to this for a while plus ive never been involved in a KAL before. I wont be able to get started on it for a while though as im still waiting for my copy of Stitch and Bitch Nation to arrive and then i'll have to invest in some more yarn.

Please Help Me!!

2005-04-25T15:05:00.000+01:00

Ok i bought this wool on ebay absolutely ages ago, it's a Kilcarra of Donegal aran tweed and its just sitting in my stash waiting to be used. I absolutely love the colour but just cant seem to decide what to do with it. I have about 650g and I am appealing to anyone out there who may stumble across my blog and read this! Please leave me a comment and tell me what i should do with this wool!!!

A Formal Introduction

2005-04-25T12:00:00.000+01:00

And now a formal introduction to my furry friends!
This is Boysey, named after the character from Only Fools and Horses. He lives with my parents and is getting quite old now in fact his black bits are going grey! Here he has sneakily stolen a cat nap in the bed i knitted for Oscar.

Scooter lives with Chris and I, he is only three and when i have finished my degree and moved back in with Chris we hope to get him a little friend. We'll both be out at work everyday and i worry he'll get bored and lonely! well thats my excuse and im sticking to it...

And last but not least, Oscar who also lives with my parents. He is a little sweetheart if a bit too adventurous! But he is recovering well from his injury and once his fur grows back he will be fine.

Progress

2005-04-25T09:56:00.000+01:00

Just thought i'd post a pic of how Chris's jumper was progressing. I have to keep going for another couple of inches before i can start shaping the armholes.

Yesterday i got the train back to Birmingham ready for my exams so im feeling a little low about leaving Chris and my family behind for another five weeks. So to cheer myself up i decided to treat myself with some wool! I am now the proud owner of.... (drum roll please) 500g of Noro Kureyon! I bid on it on Ebay and won. I just cant wait to get hold of it and start knitting!!

I bought the wool from the yarn-sweaterstore (an ebay shop) which i highly recommend. They are based in the UK but sell overseas too and they have a great range of yarns that are sometimes difficult to get hold of.

Pattern

2005-04-21T17:12:00.000+01:00

This is the pattern im using for chris's jumper from the Noro Knits pattern book.
This is definately a pattern book i would recommend, all of the patterns are modern and stylish and they seem to be fairly straightforward. so far ive only used two of the patterns but they really are very easy.
You can get this pattern book at the Laughing Hens online store which is one of my favourite places to buy yarn and books.

My First Jumper

2005-04-21T15:39:00.000+01:00

This is the wonderfully colourful wool my darling boyfriend has chosen for his jumper! Isnt it lovely? well as you can see in the pic im progressing steadily with it so far, almost finished the ribbed section. Im already getting itchy fingers to knit something more colourful and exciting though... my student loan comes in next week and im going to have to really hold back to not spend it on more wool!!!