Tuesday 22 December 2009

But I do have some place to go....

So why is it still snowing?? Why didn't it wait til everyone was where they want to be at Christmas and then snow... Harrumph. I have become a real woose about driving in snow and bad weather but my sister's is a couple of hours away over some moors etc so here's hoping that the forecast for Wednesday and Thursday really holds up and the snow lets off. This is the matchbox I sent off for our team swap on UKS - surprising how much you can get in a matchbox!

Sunday 6 December 2009

He's back!

It's December now.... so guess who sneaked out of the cupboard? Well I guess he's had a long sleep so is full of energy now! I'm not going to try to journal my christmas this year as I'm still on the road quite a bit for another week and don't really need anything else in my life that would make me feel 'behind' but at some point I'll do something - an A-Z maybe though I think some of those letters might be hard to find something for.

Saturday 28 November 2009

Where did November go?

It just wented ... so fast that it's all a kind of blur. I've been on the road a lot with the job so I guess that explains it. But it's almost December and I've booked a table at a craft fair on the 13th (eek two weeks tomorrow!!) so need to get cracking and felting and sewing and allsorts. But first I have to tidy up - I noticed spiders' webs on the kitchen windowsill today, the new iron I bought inOctober is still in its box, I can't find anything (and certainly not the carpet) but hey, I have done all the christmas shopping ! (well okay I still have to buy for OH but he's just awkward) So of course I am putting off the massive tidy up operation by 'tidying up' my pc and webs and stuff. Hhmmm. But here's a wee reminder that it'll be Christmas card time soon!!

Friday 2 October 2009

Dip and wet and bend and stretch!

Well the fluey lurgey thing continued - kind of got better then got worse again with sore throat and swollen glands - and the doc did end up testing for swine flu tho not heard back yet - so maybe I lied last time! Oops. We'll see.Anyway, this being at home is great for the getting things finished malarky. I sewed up the Aran lacey jacket from Debbie Bliss's first magazine (had to redo the back from the armholes as I hadn't quite done it right and didn't know quite what I'd done wrong so it was easier to redo....) but it looked kind of lumpy and a bit tight - so I bravely filled the bath, dunked it in, then stretched it and pinned it to towels on the floor. And about two days later I have a wearable comfy jacket (needs buttons though). Emboldened by this and taking deep breaths I finally grafted the cockleshell scarf I started on Shetland last hols - then spent ages weaving ends - then repeated the dunk and stretch bit. In this fine wool the results were amazing and dried really quickly. The crinkled mass all stretched out into lovely cockleshells after all!

Thursday 17 September 2009

Gearing up for Autumn

Well all this being laid low by some fluey buggy lurgey thing (not swine flu, honest!) really does help get stuff finished! This all ready for autumn bodywarmer was going to be a jacket but it's quite bulky and also I was running out of wool, so it's a long hip warming length gilet. The button band and collar were a bit tricksy but think it's worked out ok. The wool was a fab bargain pack I got from Jamieson's when up in Shetland on holiday last year (and I need to knit up all those bargain packs so I can go back again some time!).

Tuesday 15 September 2009

Blanket done!

Well, it's not as big as I'd have liked, but I've used up all the wool - so I guess it's done. It's actually a good size for over the back of the sofa ready to get put to use while telly watching or reading in the evening -so I'm happy! And it was getting rather awkward to knit....

Friday 11 September 2009

The big red bag

Yes it was big when I was knitting it .... It was big when it was ready to felt.... and it's still big! Yay for a big red bag. Of course if I fill it with things it might be too heavy to lift ... and I need to find a big zip to finish it off, but it has used up a huge pile of lopi wool that I got on ebay and I've wanted to try this pattern (Noni Adventure Bag) for ages. So I did. Other knitting updates are that the blanket is finished (ie I knit up all the wool I had) It's not quite a single blanket size but good enough for snuggling under on the sofa watching telly! If I find more suitable wool at some point it might enlarged. I'm trying to finish off wintery knits at the mo so as to be ready when it comes - almost done the back of the Shetland stripey jacket though on looking at the wool I have left it might become a gilet instead. And at some point soon I will sew up the lacy Donegal Debbie Bliss jacket that has sat in bits since last October.....

Wednesday 12 August 2009

Ooh I felt that!

Time is flying on again - and I've been busy of course - hols on the Northumberland coast were great - lots of time on the beach with kites and rock pools and walks, lots of knitting (a disastrous pink thing which got frogged) all the Harry Potter films (on various nights) and i got my blanket finished (well I ran out of wool so there's no border on it yet). And sadly I had to go back to work and it's been a hectic August so far but here's a few things to catch up on.

Saturday 13 June 2009

French Market Bag

From this to this! My take on the French Market Bag on Ravelry - knitted in lopi. It's come out rather more square than I thought it would, but I like it anyway! Now I just need to find something to do with it! But it's certainly eating into my stash (which is good...)

Friday 5 June 2009

Getting to the sole of it

I love warm chunky knitted socks to slip on in the evenings and relax round the house in. But I wear holes in the heels. I have darned the socks twice. And there are more holes in the heels. So they sat in the basket for ages looking forlorn. And I had an idea... maybe I could use the sleeves of a jumper I felted by accident to make felt soles that I could sew on ....? Yep it works! So now have double thickness soles and hopefully a darnfree winter ...

Thursday 4 June 2009

Absorba to the rescue!

I bought this cotton almost two years ago now. I can remember it was an impulse buy at a fancy yarn store nearby me and felt guilty about buying it, all the way home. Then I started knitting it up. It was horrid. The pattern was probably only okay for an anorexic model, it made me look like a demented Michelin man. So I ripped it out, and knitted it into a lace pattern shawl. But it never got used, I mean who would use a chunky cotton shawl? So it sat in the spare room and made me feel bad. Then on day on Ravelry I saw that someone had used this same cotton (Araucania Patagonia) for Absorba the Great Bathmat from Mason-Dixon. Wow we thought, that would be cheery. And so it was. A quick knit on on 10mm pins and three strands at a time, and some left over for a washcloth and scrubby too. So now I have a soft and cheering bathmat. Me like.

Tuesday 2 June 2009

Second summer instalment

The nephew gets introduced to the fine art of holding a hank ... ah childhood memories!! Other holiday pics are the sea pinks which clung to the rocks and edges all over, the amazing shapes of the Giant's Causeway, and the start of Absorba the Great Bathmat - think I have finally found something to do with that Araucania yarn. Yes it will be the most expensive bathmat ever but at least having ripped it out twice already I'll hopefully get some use out of it. Another hot summer day here and I'm bushed again, but hey two blogs in a row!

Monday 1 June 2009

Summer!

Is here! A gorgeous couple of days to brighten us all up - and exhaust us in this heat too of course... So I thought it was about time I updated this blog. April was very busy workwise and on May I went to Donegal for a holiday but got ill so ended up recuperating at my sister's (and getting introduced to the wonders of facebook...) so have just come back to my flat and am trying to tidy up today. Nice 15 minute spurts of course, which means I can have wee rests and do things like the blog update and all the other online time eaters. I'll dip in and out with some pics too though. Kinnagoe Bay, Inishowen, Donegal / Gran's new socks! / Sunset at Giant's Causeway, Antrim / On the beach / And the glorious meringues at the Sandhead cafe in Dumfries & Galloway!

Wednesday 4 March 2009

Springlike

Just back from a couple of days at my sister's which was lovely - what with my and hers illnesses I've not been down since Christmas which seems ages ago now! And of course I had to introduce the family to the dishcloth craze. So the two little soap filled cloths were for Mum and Sis. A pretty tricolour yellow, orange and white petal one was left draped over their kitchen tap (in a very shiny sink which I sincerely hope is going to stay that way after I shared my also new found passion for FlyLady...) The blue ballband got parcelled up and send to OH for his birthday (not sure what he'll think of that!) I couldn't resist taking a pic of a few of the cloths all together, and last but not least when the sun shines it almost seems springlike and sis had some lovely daffs on windowsill along with a little chick (which I think is really a duck) in a burst of needlefelting for Easter! ETA - check out that shiny sink of sis's!

Tuesday 24 February 2009

The Ballband Cloth!

I've loved the look of this since I got the Mason Dixon Knitting book last month, so of course I had to try and track down some Peaches & Creme and give it a go! I love the bright cheery sunniness in the kitchen.

Sunday 22 February 2009

Spring?

Dishcloth mania is continuing ... I went back to work this work which of course entails spending a lot of time on a train (two times 6 hour journeys!) so took some cotton with me. What I didn't expect was that the lovely dark green in the sunflower variegated shades used above would come off all over me and my bamboo needles. Probably the only time I've been green fingered in my life. Ah well, I found most of it came off with travel wipes. Most. I loved these patterns though. I now have the Ballband Dishcloth on needles. It's fun too.And it was a sunny day and on looking out the train window I realised I was passing all these spring like ploughed fields. Is winter really over?

Sunday 15 February 2009

Dishcloths!

Two handknitted cotton dishcloths now reside in my kitchen - it was a bit of a struggle to make myself get one dirty today and er actually wash the dishes with it, but it was great to use. The blanket is progressing though as the rows get longer it seems to get slower. Floors got washed today and a pile of handwashing done along with a trip to Tescos. Tomorrow I'm planning to get out for a walk a bit further afield and head down to a shopping street about 20 minutes away - after 3 weeks or so in the flat it feels like a big adventure! Of course I pass a lovely wool shop on the way ....

Friday 13 February 2009

Knit on!

Quite tired still, and not venturing far from the house, but on the mend I think - fingers crossed! The log cabin blanket is getting bigger and is still a choose what comes next when you get to it experiment. As the Selfish Knitters on Ravelry are having February One Skein KAL (I've already used a few on the felted boxes and the fireside socks), and as I've been tidying and organising the flat in short 15-20 minute bursts of energy, I decided to try something new for me - knitted dishcloths! I had this ball of bog standard cotton in the stash - not nearly as pretty as some of the yarns folks are using but it's cheap, it's in the stash and it'll do the job. I'll admit to having some ordered some nicer Peaches & Creme online though ....