Viknits

Moving..

2008-07-18T09:35:00.000-07:00

I've moved!!!

For various reasons, I've moved blog. If you pm me I can tell you why (it's nothing terribly exciting). It's partly because blogger bugs me!

Come and find me at http://monkeyfeet.wordpress.com/ :)

And see things like this:

My first sewing, WIPs and new yarns!

2008-07-05T03:40:00.000-07:00

Phew, it's taken me ages to do all this post, now for the writing.

Well it's been another hectic week!

First of all, I made my first sewing project. I've always been into sewing, but never properly. I had the idea that it would really enhance my shop if I could put in some bags and cool stuff that I've sewn, but first I need to learn to do it properly! So I bought the kit for this bag off etsy. Basically you got the material, handles and interfacing, along with the pattern and instructions. BUT.. the instructions were really hard to follow, I think they'd been translated from a different language. So, I got a big sewing book to help me instead. I ended up not following the pattern either!

So here's my tote bag, it's quite big, will comfortable hold my knitting, purse, book, phone, keys etc.

My sewing's not 100%, and I had a zillion ends to weave in, so seeing as it's just for me, I decided to knot them and cut some of them, some are woven in though.

Above you can see a skein of yarn in the pocket. I've since attached a couple of cute badges, and I'm going to put a button on the pocket.

Looking inside you'll see the messy part of my sewing - the handles. The knitting and book were down at the bottom so I've pulled them up so you can see the size a bit better.

So, what is the knitting in the bag?

It's this - my upstairs stole. I'm on my 5th repeat now, it's growing quite quickly, and I'm really happy with it.

And what was that book?

It was Terry Pratchett's Wintersmith..

I've finished the first Lotus Lace sock! I'm really, really happy with it. It's a fantastic fit and looks great, so I can't wait to make the second one - no more SSS for me!!

My Godfather got me a funky felted pen.. how cool is this??

And I'm very, very slowly spinning up this beautiful merino/soy silk roving. Spindling doesn't really do it for me I have to say!

Here we go -

This is what I keep it it:

I've been dyeing a lot this week too. First of all I did some BFL aran, in Strawberry Dreams, and Pablo.

Oh, but then I got these in the post... Blue Jeans handspun from Bordertart on Ravelry.

Copacabana, also from bordertart:

And SkeinQueen, can't remember the name, but it's lambswool, angora and cashmere, and oh so soft!
I swapped the above three for my yarns, so my stash now looks like this:

Measly looking, but you'd be amazed at how much there actually is on that shelf! Plus it's all so beautiful :)

Here's the big box of yarn (this is all my hand dyed not stash!!):

Here are the lovely, squishy new alpaca sock yarns.. they dyed up really nicely and the colours really blended.

I think they'd make fantastic lace projects as well as socks.

Pablo:

Cairngorm:

Autumn:

Blueberry Muffin:

Kelp:

Holly:

Inca:

Fresh Berries:

Ocean view:

You'll have to ignore the horendous quality of this image. I put it together in paintshop, and somewhere between uploading it to photobucket and uploading it here the quality went awful :(

It's Bambino - my new sock yarn, which is 80% merino, 20% bamboo. It's unblievably soft and squishy, I can't stop feeling it!

The worst one seems to be the middle top one, if you want to see it it's in my photobucket, and in my etsy of course. I was going to uploads them individually but my post would have taken all week to write and read!

So top-bottom, left-right - Kelp, Holly, Blueberry Muffin, Sweetheart, Duffel, Buttercup, Inca, Fresh Berries, and Tor.

I uploaded three close ups so you can actually see them!

Here's Holly:

Tor:

Duffel:

Here's a gratituous puppy photo to break up the yarn photos..

It's a hard knock life eh!

And finally, here are the BFL sock yarns, I've not put all of them here - just the new ones. The ones you can't see are Inca, Autumn and a few others!

Here's a really bright version of Holly:

Bonnie:

Deep Sea Diving:

Sweetheart kettle dyed with some purple:

And that's all for now!!

I'm onto the second of my plain purple socks, nearly on the heel. Am going to OH's for a few days so I'll probably finish it while I'm there, so I've wound up my Socks that Rock yarn ready to cast on a pair of plain sock in that.

There's also the stole, which I'm hoping I might finish in about ten days (I usually do half or a whole repeat at a time cause I'm strange like that). And the Lotus Lace socks, which I'm sure I'll get done quickly because I love them so much! I can see another pair or two in my future! The next patterned socks will be Pixie's Pablo socks but in the cotton sock yarn I got at Woolfest.

I'd better go - so much to do, so little time!

Woolfest.. in a gazillion photos!

2008-06-28T10:26:00.000-07:00

Woolfest was awesome! I had a lovely time, met quite a few Ravelers and then afterwards we had fish n chips in Keswick, and a dog walk in the rain around the lake. It was a lovely day!

We didn't get there til 1pm, so first we scouted around checking it all out (we being me and mum). I loved seeing the animals. Some of my favourites were the Wensleydale sheep, angora bunny, and the alpacas. I seem to have a thing for animals with funny hair/flecces.

These guys, the Wensleydales, are the cool kids of the animal world. Look how chilled they are. They almost look stoned. (All my pics are enlargable btw - I recommend zooming in at the hair)

Check out this bunny! Isn't he cute, and rockin and tufty!

And look at the alpacas - definitely punks of the animal world. I like the ones that are black and have white bits in the tufts on the top of their heads, but there weren't any here. These are just as cool though. The hair do's kind of a bit 80's, specially with the clipped body.

Ok, enough of the animals, now to the shopping. I've been stashbusting for 6 months, as I've proudly told just about everybody. And saving up for a few months too.

So I started with... buttons! I love buttons, beads and little bits and bobs that are interesting.
I got horn ones, slate ones, pretty ones, geometric style ones..

I got some fibre, it's merino/silk from Wigham wool work. It's actually bright purple in real life, but I can't get my camera to pick up purple today, annoyingly.

This is from DT Craft & Design - it's 50% angora, 50% kid mohair, it's a DK weight, I'm going to use it for a lace project - possibly Ice Queen. Oh I'll probably dye it first though.

This is lana grossa cotton blend sock yarn. It's remarkably similar (but not as bright) as my Kelp! Anyway, I thought I'd give it a try.

I got these from the chorley market lady who was there. She had lots of rowan kidsilk haze/night, and I really wanted to get loads as it was half price, but I just got these two. They're kind of dark plum coloured. I was a little peeved that she sneaked in some acrylic nasties (I do have acrylic, but Woolfest isn't really the place I don't think). And her hubby was kind of touting for business which was annoying (I ignored him). But I got a bargain anyway so can't complain!!

Ok, more fro DT Craft & Design, who were really friendly and had loads of good stuff. This one is laceweight, handspun silk and goat down. It's a bit weird actually. It's quite hard and very shiny. It makes a gorgeous shawl though, there's 500 yards so I'll dye it and make something nice :)

This is Natural Dye Studio laceweight alpaca - it's SO lush. Again, I think there's about 600 yards (from memory - could be wrong) - so I'll make something really nice with it :)

I met Amanda and her hubby and they were really friendly and interesting to talk to.

I also met Jen, of fyberspates fame. She was really lovely and her yarns were so delicious. I liked the casual lay out of her stall, and the shawls she'd knitted from her yarns which gave me a good idea of what I could do with a skein or two.

I got this laceweight silk, which I'm hoping to use for my first doily. I can't remember how many yards she said are in it, so I'll have to check.

It was intersting how Amanda (NDS), Jen (Fyberspates) and me (plus a few others you'll know of!) all use the same supplier for our base yarns (we have some different but the main ones are hte same), and our styles of dyeing are so different. That's really cool.

I got this from Jen too, it's DK weight silk, with good yardage (again, I've forgotton how much). Im' not sure what I'll do with it. Maybe save it til I can afford another skein then make something.

I got this - Colinette Jitterbug - how cool is the pink!

It says easy care, but in small print says hand wash - argh! So I don't know if I can put it in on a 30 degree wash or not.
I got colinette point 5 too, to go with my other skein, which is plum coloured. I'm thinking of saving up for one more skein and doing a felted bag.

That's all from Woolfest for this year! It'll keep me busy for months anyway :)

If you've never been to Woolfest, I can't recommend it enough. It's traditional but has fashion too, and is really down to earth.

Now onto WIPs and stuff! I crocheted this last week - it's a shoulder bag. I made it up as I went along, hence the dodgy shape. I do like it though, and need to line it.

I crocheted this small bowl using DB SoHo too. The rocks you see in the top and on the left on top are actually both pieces of lava from Iceland, which I picked up (I'm sad like that).

This is my TV knitting - it's bright purple in real life! It's going slowly seeing as I rarely watch TV, but I'm on the second one anyway.

Here's my Upstairs Stole - it's a quick, simple knit, and I like it! It's not a challenge, so quite relaxing. It's Rowan kidsilk haze in natural - I'm wondering if I should dye it pale lilac, but I might leave it.
And Here's my Lotus Lace socks, from Kai - a great pattern, it's easy to follow, simple enough to do while mid conversation, but complicated enough to keep you interested. It's going fast because I'm one of those peeple who likes to do a whole repeat at a time, and each repeat's 10 rows, so it's coming on quickly!

I'm really pleased with Delle, which is my own yarn. It's been spiral striping, then on the heel I got little stripes, and now I think it's going to pool down the foot. I'm going to try and match the second one the same. It's a bit lighter than the pics actually.

And that's all for now! I'm crocheting coasters using the remaining ball of SoHo, for my MIL to be. My stash shelf, though pitiful compared to some may be *nudges Kate*, is stuffed full of yummy yarn again :)

OH I nearly forgot - at woolfest I picked up some great yarn from my supplier! I got a kilo each of alpaca sock yarn, bamboo blend sock yarn, and the usual (but so soft!) BFL sock yarn. I also got bamboo fibre, milk fibre and silk hankies :) so will be busy dyeing next week.

Last minute stashbusting!

2008-06-25T13:13:00.000-07:00

It's woolfest at the weekend! I'm SOOOOO excited! I haven't bought yarn for 6 months now, as my stashbust started at Christmas, and finishes on saturday when I go to Woolfest. I've used up most of my stash, so am very smug.

Anyway, first I've done more dyeing so I'll show you that first.

I had a custom order for Broken Stones on Merino/Tencel sock, and Ocean View on BFL sock, four of each. So here they are..

Broken Stones:

And Ocean View.

They haven't arrived with the recipient yet, but I think she'll be happy with them as she already has quite a bit of my yarn in her stash.

Here's Autumn, it's a bit brighter than usual.

This is a new one, it's called Inca. It's proved popular, and I've kept some for myself too because I love it so much :) I'll definitely be doing lots more of this!
Here is another skein but reskeined:

This is duffel - inspired by a lady's duffel coat who was in front of me in a queue in the bank (I was there half an hour so had plenty of time to think about the meaning of life and other such important subjects *cough*yarn*cough*)

And Kelp, a rather bright skein. The blueish colour and the mid green aren't too bright but the lime is uber bright. I don't like green much. But I'm saying that less and less these days, because I *love* this skein!

Here's some of my stashbustng. I've done most of the projects I had planned, but am doing some last minute projects using the chunkier balls/skeins of yarn!

These mitts are crocheted, I justmade them up as I went along and they've turned out well. I've called them my Paladin Mitts. They're done in Wendy Fusion, colour - Mace.

I did start the Summer Sampler Stole from BadCat Designs, but didn;t get on with it. So I decided I'd best get on with my stole for Venice (I'm going in August). So I decided to do the
Upstairs Shawl, in Rowan Kidsilk Haze, colour - natural. It is lush, I think it's actually quite a lot softer than the Kidsilk Night, which my favourite FC is done in (and I wear it loads).

In the few hours since this photo, it's grown considerably. It's a really good, easy pattern but effective.

And finally, here are my Lotus Lace socks, from Kai Mistry. It's a gorgeous pattern, really well written, and I think it suits the yarn, which is my own BFL sock in colour - Delle. I'm really chuffed that the colour stripes are spiralling :)

And finally finally. This is the stash. It used to take up both these shelves - look how much I've used!!

It's all been reorganised and takes up half that top shelf (it's stacked properly now). There's plenty of room for my inevitable Woolfest Booty. I can't wait!

Trystero Socks

2008-06-20T03:23:00.000-07:00

I've finally finished them! In actual knitting time, these didn't take that long because I had to do half a chart, or a full chart at a time. I couldn't just do a few rows. But after casting on the second one, it languished for weeks, while I tried to get over my second sock syndrome. Well I did eventually and the second one came on pretty quickly.

Pattern: Trystero Socks from cookiea.com
Yarn: Plain blue 4 ply from John Lewis
Needles: 2.25mm
Changes: I did a short row heel instead of the heel flap because I don't like heel flaps.

The verdict: I like them a lot! They are tight to get on, but once on they're a great fit.

And here's another dog photo, this is Holly-pud, now 6 months old but still very cute. This is the stare of "It's dinner time you know".

2008-06-14T08:10:00.000-07:00

Well the star of this post is undoubtedly Tom! He's the cute bunny below :)

He's corcheted using Alpaca Select DK, and is my first (of many) amigurumi!

I'm crocheting a beanie too, it's coming on so quickly!

I've been busy dyeing again, here are some of the results of my efforts-

Merino/silk laceweight in Deep Sea Diving:

BFL Sock in Dave:

BFL aran or DK (not sure) in Ocean View:

Almerino DK in Pablo:

Almerino in Kelp:

Almerino in Lucy:

Almerino DK in Ocean View:

Almerino DK in Fresh Berries:

Merino/tencel sock in Fresh Berries:

Merino/tencel Sock in Kelp (i'm particularly partial to this):

(and I don't even like green)

Merino/tencel in Blueberry Muffin:

Merino/tencel in Disco Feet:

Merino/tencel in Delle:

Merino/tencel Sock in Pixie:

I have a multitude of WIPs, including:
- a tote I'm sewing,
- crochet beanie in Wendy Fusion
- Summer Sampler Stole in Zephyr (I've done a whole two rows!!)
- Chevron scarf in Sirdar blur, which I really need to finish
- Trystero socks, which I *really* need to finish (I have SSSS - Severe Second Sock Syndrome)

I'm wanting to have a go at some beading next week, I'd like to make beautiful jewellery, so I got myself a mag and some wire and some thread, (I have loads of beads already) and I'm going to give it a shot.

Horseshoe Stole! Finally!

2008-06-05T10:02:00.000-07:00

.... but first, some gratituous yarn photos!

I actually won something yesterday! I won the pimp the swap competition for the UK Swap (on Ravelry). I never win anything so was immensely happy, and this beautiful yarn came this morning!

It's strangely heavy.......

I did some reskeining today.. Blueberry Muffin:

And Dreamtime:

So now I really need to show you some photos of my finished Horseshoe Lace Stole!

Here are a few bits of info:

Pattern - Horseshoe lace, with a simple 4 stitch garter stitch border
Yarn - Natural Dye Studio cobweb mohair, 2 skeins, each of which with 400 yards (I think)
Needles - 2mm, but I cheated and went up to 2.25mm near the end so that it'd get longer!!

All wrapped up, ready for Grandma tomorrow :)

Another big post

2008-06-04T08:51:00.000-07:00

As usual, I've left it for ages befor eupdating my blog, and it's become a big job. I don't have many WIP photos, because I'm *still* doing the horseshoe lace stole and trystero socks. But I did some stashbusting as interim projects, and I did a very simple garter stitch scarf and the one row scarf.

Here's the one row scarf - it's a great pattern, dead easy and quick but looks great (I think)! This is a random aran wool that I got in Harrogate. It's really thick and warm!

This is the garter stitch scarf (how unoriginal!), it's in Rowan romance, and I only had two balls so it's just long enough to go round my neck and tuck under a coat.

I got tempted on etsy. I've decided it's about time I worked on my sewing skills, so I ordered a sewing kit for a tote bag. I also got some beautiful Japanese ribbon from the same seller, it's sooo cute!

This is the fabric for the tote:

And more ribbon, which I think is lovely:

Here's the kit:

Here's a gratituous puppy photo! Notice the tongue stuck out, I think it adds the cute to the photo! She's nearly 6 months now!

We have wild Irises in our garden :)

Here's Solomon, the bonsai I promised to show you a photo of. He's very happy and is doing very well. I'm really chuffed with him!

I welcomed WoollyButterfly into my shopa couple of weeks ago. She mostly makes beautiful bags, such as the ones below. They're all really lovely! I'm going to have to buy one off her! She's joined my shop in the hopes she might sell a bag or few, they're £12 so a good price (I think!), though I think they'd look well placed in a boutique sort of shop!

Here are a couple of the lovely bags:

I've done a huge amount of dyeing. I did 20 skeins for wholesale, 40 skeins for my shop, and some fibre, (I've still got to do the fibre). Here's the box full, quite a lot of it has sold already so the box is a bit empty. I just love diving in it! It's all BFL sock yarn by the way :) (lots of laceweight coming in July)

I'm obviously not goint to put in 40 photos of yarn ;) so have picked out a few to show you!

This is Firecracker:

Deep Sea Diving:

Autumn:

Wild Fire:

Fresh Berries with lilac:

Sea Spray:

Sweetheart:

Fresh Berries:

Strawberry Dreams (now reskeined):

Pixie:

Meadow:

Starlet BFL roving:

Pixie BFL roving:

Pablo BFL roving:

And that's it! I've very nearly finished the stole, so there'll be a post on that soon. And I've got most of the Trystero sock (on hold) to knit too. My stashalong's going really well, the shelf's about 2/3 full now.

I have some destash items for sale:
- 1 skein black loony boony on a cone, for £5
- 1 skein zephyr in Lilac for £5 (I bought it by accident - actually need violet!)
- 2 balls natural colour (brown) aran weight manx loaghton (sp?) £4
- two half balls, of about 200g each of Sirdar YoYo in toffee/fudge/caramel - £12

I'm putting these in my etsy shop, just cause I may as well, and will put them on Ravelry and the AY forum. If you'd like them, feel free to email me at WildFireFibres@googlemail.com :) If you reeeeally want to swap, I'll do that, but would prefer cash simply because the whole idea is to destash !! :)

Swap Questionnaire

2008-05-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

Here's my swap questionnaire! Yey!

Part One: Crafting

Do you knit, crochet, or both? I'm really a knitter, but have just taught myself to crochet, so that I can do some ammigurumi eventually!

What do you like to make? I'm primarily a lace and socks knitter, as I never suit tops! I do like knitting hats, scarves, mittens, toys, felted bags, felted random things.. allsorts really!

Do you have a favourite project? Probably socks!

Do you have a favourite type of fiber or brand of yarn? Alpaca! I just love all natural fibres to be honest.

Do you have a least favourite type of yarn? Acrylic.. I'm a self-confessed yarn snob! :p

Do you do any other crafts? Lots! Beading, card making, photography, spinning (a bit), dyeing (of course!), and I want to try metal smithing, candle making, soap making and flower arranging!! I'm also awaiting a kit so I can put my sewing skills to use, and hopefully my sewing will take on a proper, proffessional look - I'd love that!

Do you knit in public? Yeah!

If so where do you like knitting and what is your "portable" project? I knit on public transport, in waiting rooms, in the pub sometimes, and my portable project is usually a sock.

What do you carry your "portable" knitting in? Whatever's on my shoulder! Usually my trusty suede shoulder bag. I'm a bit anal, I like the suede bag the best because being suede, it sticks to my shoulder, whereas other materials slide off!

When I go to knitting group I have a lovely tote which is red and black with big flowers on. It's full of random stuff! It's ace!

Are there any knitting gifts (book, toy, yarn, item, tool) that you have been lusting over? Last time I said no, then a week later thought of a million cool things. I'll have a look around and come back to this. OOOOOH thought of something - the dangly knitting needle earrings from Sassafras creations on etsy!! Ooh - I've just discovered the softness of the Malabrigo merino worsted.. *drooool* (If I think of anything else I'll add it!)

Part Two: Your Favourites

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be (and why)? I'd be.. hmm that's a hard one. I'm going to go for Mirasol Miski. It's stunningly soft, beautiful rich colours, and of course it's all in favour of the Mirasol project, which i'm a bit involved with myself.

What is your favourite colour? Purple!!

What is your least favourite colour? Bright green and bright orange.

What scents/smells do you like? I love white musk and vanilla, but mildly, I don't like strong smells/perfumey smells at all!

What don’t you like? Strong perfume, strong smells - they give me a headache.

How do you like to pamper yourself? (bubble bath, hand creams, massage, manicure) I sit and do some knitting! I do use the knitter's helper natural hand balm which my previous swap partner got me. But I don't use anything like bubble bath or manicures.

What goodies to you like to eat? (chocolate, biscuits, sweets,crisps etc) Apple strudel, apple crumble, chocolate croissants, pizza! Nando's! Errr mostly really fattening things! Not into bars of chocolate.

Do you prefer tea or coffee while you knit? Tea! Hate coffee!

Any particular kind? Yes!! I'm really addicted to this instant tea from Whittards, it's elderflower and rasberry, and it's mostly sugar and stuff, but does have some black tea extract in it! It's really nice!

Do you listen to/watch anything while you knit? (TVshow-Along, movies, music, podcasts, audiobooks) I tend to listen to Radio 2, don't watch TV much at all (once a week for the Apprentice).

Part Three: About you, Living & Past-times

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be (and why)? We've already answered this :p

Where do you live in the UK? (General idea not address) Lancashire and Manchester - and I LOVE both!

Have you always lived here, or did you grow up somewhere else? I'm a true lancashire lass and apart from uni, I've been here all my life!

What is your favourite place in the UK? Manchester and home!

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? Italy. I go to Venice every year, and we absolutely love everything Italian. Love love love it!

What other hobbies do you have? Loads - photography, shooting, dancing, ice skating, going to the gym, golf, mountainbiking, skiing. A lot of these are things I do every so often with OH rather than on a regular basis. The regular ones are skiing, iceskating, swimming and golf, oh and the gym and sauna!

Part Four: The Theme

As part of this swap we are asking you to post (or link to) a picture or photograph you like. Your swap pal will use the photo as a basis for a themed item or parcel.It could be of a specific item, e.g. Jellybeans, an Alpaca, a rainbow or a scene e.g. sunset, beach, woodland or anything else you can think of! Please add a few words to explain why you have chosen the photo if you think this is appropriate.It could be a photo you have taken or a picture you have found on the internet.

A photo eh.. I could pick about 20, I don't even know where to start deciding. An animal? yarn? a colour? a landscape? me being silly? hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

Ok, here's my picture:

It's a woodland. This woodland is being advertised for sale, and I would *love* to buy it. I'd buy it and preserve it exactly how it is, and I'd encourage wildlife, and have bat and bird boxes, and stuff like that. I really hope this woodland doesn't get sold to developers - that really annoys me. There's plenty of room in the cities for regeneration, there are SO many unused buildings that we should be using and we're not. So that's why I've picked this picture - it represents my morals and ethics and is simply beautiful. Also I love bluebells, they remind me of wisteria which I really love too :)

UK Swap Number 2!

2008-05-14T10:42:00.000-07:00

I'm getting involved!
This is my pimping stuff - if you're in the UK go join the UK Swaps group on Ravelry, it's a good, well organised swap, which gives you quite a while to do it, and the hosts are running wee competitions for cool prizes along the way.

Of course I'm biased, I'm donating yarn :p I've not decided what yet so can't tease you with it!

If you are reading this and want to join in, check out the blog at http://ukswap.blogspot.com/ and leave a message telling them that it was me that pointed you in that direction ;)
Then go pimp the swap yourself too!

Yarn, Pie, WIPs, Books and Nature! (Not in that order)

2008-05-11T09:14:00.001-07:00

Well.. I've uploaded my pics in random order so that's dictating the order, I'm too lazy to go reordering all the photos!

This week hasn't been quite so hectic as usual, as my folks are away with two of the dogs, so it's just me and the remaining dog who's "too old" to go on holiday :( (She couldn't actually fit in the car was the real reason!)

Anyway it's been the epitome of peace and tranquility. Seriously. I've got quite a bit of knitting done, been at work, been baking, BBQing, and generally enjoying life. Well, until Thursday that is. At lunch time I suddenly felt quite ill, it was over 30 degrees C in the shop and I was so cold I had a thick jumper on!

I lasted out til 6pm (we were short staffed so I kind of had to). Then I drove home (very carefully!) in a daze of pain and dizziness, collapsed with a fever and slept til Friday. Friday was ok, but then yesterday I got bloody worse! My temperature rocketed and I seem to have developed a painful tummy bug :( so today I've not been able to eat a single thing, it's really annoying because I can smell my neighbours' delicious BBQ food!!

It's now pouring down and thundering quite badly, poor Bonnie is shaking and breathing heavily and I'm rather enjoying it.

I'll get on with all the stuff anyway.

First I got two books a couple of weeks ago. This jumped out at me and I HAD to buy it. It is beautifully presented, I can't wait to have a go at the wee dogs (need to get some fleece).

They're really quite realistic considering they're made from fleece!

I also just had to get VLT. It's been on my to-buy list for soooo long. I'm really glad I got it, the info in there makes great reading and the projects are beautiful!

I read the caption "self powere lawn mower", wondered 'what on earth??' then saw the photo...!

Ooooh we just had a REALLY big bolt of lightning and thunder! How exciting! (Poor Bonnie though :( ) I think the storm must be over us, it's gone really dark.

Anyway. Last weekend me and OH did some baking. After much deliberation we went for Banoffie pie. I love choc/banana ice cream and banoffie pie, so does he, and we baked it very successfully.. BUT the condensed milk was so damn sweet! It really ruined it! I was very disappointed!

Looks a mess I know, but it's really not easy to keep all neat!

Pre-cutting..

I made a load of crochet stitch holders recently too. Firstly this cute elephant..

Doggie related stitch markers (the dog's a bit miserable looking though)..

Random purple crochet stitch holders..

And milliefiorie ones:

Oh and these ceramic beads remind me of Japanese art..

Ok, a few WIPs next.

In an effort to stashbust, I made a hat with a skein of Rowan Spray. It's pretty cool yarn. anyway, here's the hat:

It's funny isn't it.. it's for skiing, I'm going to add tassels I think. Sorry for the squint - it was very bright!

I've made a start on my Trystero Socks too, from CookieA.com and I do like them but they're pretty complicated really. I've done repeat one of three for the leg so not getting on very quickly!

I'm knitting a pair of squat mitts too. I'm using my ball of Trendsetter Tonalita, I've done the first one and left it OTN so that if I have enough yarn to make them longer I can do.

I had a sizeable stash of chunky yarn that's all my handspun, so decided it was time to knit it. I was going to do a scarf (unoriginal I know), but it's so heavy that OH suggested I make a few strips the same size and make a blanket :)

I love the purple, turquoise and white :)

Here's my nurse, Bonnie. You wouldn't believe she's almost 13 would you. Here she's telling me she wants dinner. She gave me the Look:

I said "what?"

She said "it's dinner time!" She's a right cheeky-pants, look at the glint in those eyes.

She showed me this too. It's the trough I grew my veg in last summer. It's now Holly's digging pot. Also her stash pot - here's the sock I lost a few weeks ago.

Ok, some nature for you.
In the course of the day, this was shut, then it opened, then it all got blown off, then it wilted!

Wisteria.. I love this plant, I think it's so beautiful.

I spotted this tiny beetle. It's only about 4mm in length =, but just look at the colour of it's shell!

I've forgotten the name of this, but it looks very pretty.

I think this is the yew tree? Not sure (sorry!), but I think it's pretty.

Just a wet leaf..

Love this daisy shot I got, I've set it as my desktop background :)

And finally... yarn. Not done much dyeing this week, cos I did it all last week!

Here's Barley Fields in merino/tencel sock:

A few skeins of the merino/silk laceweight..

Carnivale:

Wood Elf:

This is sockyarn for Knitting Pixie. It's Pablo, it's her second skein, the first skein she's knitted up into a beautiful pair of socks which she designed herself, and the link can be found at the top left of my blog - check it out!!

This is Sugar Plum, kettle dyed. I really, really can't get the colours to photograph right.

This is another custom order for Pixie, I've actually named it Pixie seeing as it's her colourway! It's pale pink, pale blue, and a hint of lilac and turquoise.. hand painted. I'm very chuffed with it!

That's all! For some reason I thought there was more.

I'm going to knit again for a while. Try and get my 007 sock finished and my mitts done. Then I want to try and do some horseshoe. I've not been able to concentrate to do it for a few days due to being ill.

I actually got a new Bonsai last week. It's a real little beauty, but the photos can wait til next time :p

More busy-ness

2008-05-04T04:44:00.000-07:00

Well, I've been ridiculously busy, as usual! I've done lots of dyeing, I'm trying to keep a good range of colours and yarns in my shop, but of course it involves spending quite a bit of money in the first place!

I've barely had any time for knitting. My job's going ok, I do actually like it, and I like all but one person which is good going I think. I think I'm doomed though - last week on Wednesday I was in horrendous traffic and was an hour late, then on Thursday I was in a car crash! I won't go into the expense it's causing me!

Anyway, I have a completed WIP! It's Amanda's Squatty Sidekick, from Knitting Daily. It's a cool little bag, done in Twilley's Freedom Spirit. It took just over one ball.

I'm onto the second of my 007 socks. I can't believe how long they're taking. I just do them on my breaks at work, and when I'm watching a dvd (which isn't very often!).

This is the beginning of the second one. It's bright turquoise - I know the colour hasn't come out that well.

I've also done the cuff on my first Trystero sock, from CookieA. The pattern looks complicated, hence the longer than usual cuff! I'm going to try and start the pattern this afternoon though!

I am also still doing my horseshoe lace stole - I'm nearly halfway through now. Again - I can't believe how long it's taking!

I've had a shot at some card making. Obviously working in Hobbycraft it's difficult *not* to want to try everything out. So I gave in! I've put these in my shop as I thought they'd make lovely cards for swap parcels and gifts. I also had this idea - to make gift vouchers for my shop, which would neatly go with a card :) Hopefully these will make lovely gifts for folks that can't decide what to get their recipient!

Without more ado:

My favourite - I love this one!

The monkey cards are ones that I did first (before the above ones).

Ok so that's the cards. I've also dyed lots of yarn. I've actually done double the amount that I'm putting on here, some of it still needs reskeining and stuff yet. I love showing off my photos of my yarn, it's really satisfying to see it all together.

I tried out the merino/tencel sock yarn, and am really pleased with it. It's really soft and silky!

This is Broken Stones:

Poison Passion:

This is BFL DK in Kelp:

And in Phoenix:

This is some pure wool that I tried out. It's 'eco' friendly - hasn't been processed or spun with anything nasty. First in Cornflower:

This is Wisteria:

And Broken Stones:

Back to the merino/tencel sock yarn, this is fish n chips:

Delle (this is my favourite, I think it's lush!):

Pablo (poorly photographed, sorry!)

Ocean View, for Pixie (again, poorly photo'd):

I also got some new laceweight. It's 80% superfine merino, 20% silk and comes with a fantastic 1200 yards per 100g. I'm really pleased with it, it looks really fine and floaty, and as soon as my stash is down I'm going to be knitting with it (maybe a hanami).

Firstly in kettle dyed pablo:

Cornflower:

Delle:

Ocean View:

I haven't dared reskein any of them! It takes long enough reskeining the sock yarn, let alone 1200 yards! So if I get time I will reskein one of them maybe, but I probably won't to be honest!

When I get chance I'll show you the rest of the dyeing I've done (once I've reskeined!). There's another 4 skeins of merino/tencel and abother 8 or so skeins of the laceweight!

I'm off, I really want to get some knitting done before my OH comes round. I really want to get a couple of lace repeats done, and start on the Trystero socks!

oooh I forgot - I got some gorgeous new business cards this week! They are really lovely, I'm so chuffed with them, and was going to put a picture of them here, but that'd spoil the surprise (well, you know what I mean) for the people that have bought yarn and will get a nice new card attached :)

OOH - I've learnt to crochet!! Kind of.. I'm looking for a simple pattern to try out next!

Ciao for now!

We have a winner!!

2008-04-28T12:17:00.000-07:00

Thankyou to everyone who entered the April competition - it was immensely helpful and you were all very complimentary, which I'm really proud of! My shop's my baby and I nurture every skein a bit (too) obsessively!! It's very rewarding to find that you guys love what I'm doing as much as I love doing it! (sorry I'm being cheesey but it's necessary sometimes)

So, without further ado, the winner is............... *big pause* CHERRYPIE aka Cheryl! Well done! I've sent you a convo on etsy ;)

Other news: photo-full update soon to come!

Yarn P**n ... and a couple of WIPS!

2008-04-21T12:29:00.000-07:00

Well I've been uber-busy recently. Work at Hobbycraft is good. Well, it's a good job, they're quite chilled out and friendly, and the customers are mostly really friendly and nice. It is an inspiring place to work too. But in my usual fashion, I'm kind of bored with it. The loooong afternoons don't help. I'm doing 10-6 and it really drags from about 3-6pm. Nevertheless, I do like it far more than any other job I've had. The other thing that irks me is the drive and petrol. I'm spending quite a lot on petrol now, which disillusions me somewhat!

In desperation I've had my overdrafts transferred onto a 0% interest credit card. Recommended by the Money Saving Expert website, I'm glad I've done it as I will soon just have one debt instead of three smaller ones.

I had my review at the gym, I've lost 6lbs now, which is good for me. The trainer has given me a tough weight loss regime, it's a challenge but I like it. It's thus: 10 mins rowing, 20 mins cross trainer, 10 mins walking quickly on the treadmill on a 6% incline, then all the suitable weights. So to encourage myself I'm signing up for the Race for Life :)

Anyway, knitting. I'm still stashbusting, so I used a ball of my Rowan Romance to make this cowl. It's just 2x2 rib, and is really cosy and thick. I've worn it constantly this weekend!

Sorry for the poor photography there, I had my first midge bite of the year recently, as you can see :(

Here are my stripey socks which I finished quite a bit ago now. I'm on the next pair of stripey ones now ;)

I tried out my gladd needles too this week. They're lovely to knit with, so smoooooth! I can't wait til I have a full project that I can knit on them :)

Ok here's this week's yarnie photo album! I think most of it's here!

Sea Spray in Meraca (Merino/Alpaca, sooo soft and squishy) DK:

Leafy Hideout in Meraca DK:

Lemon Sorbet in BFL 4 ply (sock):

Wild Fire kettle dyed Meraca DK:

Cranberry in Meraca DK:

Wisteria in Meraca DK:

Disco Feet in BFL 4 ply (photographed slightly greener than it is):

Sweetheart kettle dyed BFL 4 ply:

Sea Spray in BFL 4 ply, a custom order for a shawl-making customer:

Apple Orchard in BFL 4 ply:

Eastern Spice in BFL 4 ply (it's superwash):

Leafy Hideout in Aran BFL:

Ocean View in aran BFL:

Autumn in aran BFL:

Lucy - kettle dyed DK BFL:

Ocean View (more greeny than real life, oops) - BFL sock/4 ply:

Self Striping Disco Feet and Eastern Spice, a custom order:

Nationality - aran BFL:

Fresh Berries in Meraca DK:

Blink in aran BFL:

Ocean View in Meraca DK (this is my favouriest skein ever, I'm soooo in love with it!):

So! That's all the yarn. Well, most of it. Obviously it's to be found in the Wild Fire Fibres shop ;) if you need any stash enhancement.

About WIPs.. well my horseshoe stole is still on the go. It's travelling at a rate of approximately two repeats per week. Which, I can assure you, is very, very slow! Specially on 2mm needles! I don't know if I'll have enough yarn to do a whole stole. I may have to odered another skein or keep it short, I'll see how it goes.

I also have my 007 socks on the go, it's my own dyed yarn, in black and bright turquoise. I'm nearly done on the first one :) yey! So after these I'm gonig to some proper patterned socks :)

I'm also trying to stash bust, but I have so little time jsut now. Plus I've got three balls of gorgeous purple aran wool, and it doesn't felt, which has stumped my plans for it for a felted bag!
I'm going to have to browse ravelry for inspiration I think ;)

Sockamania!

2008-04-05T14:36:00.000-07:00

I'm going through a real sock obsession at the mo. I'm stashbusting and socks have really got me addicted. I think it's cause I can take them everywhere, they're ace to wear and are quick and easy to knit.

So in my obsession I started the 2008 Sockalong Sockathon on the AY forum. I've got loads of patterened socks to try out and it seems loads of folks have as well, so we're going to aim for 100 pairs of socks between us :D we'll see how long it takes.

We have a flickr group too where you can see the photos of the finished socks. So far we have 5/100 pairs :D

I've been at OH's house in Manchester a lot recently, we're watching Rome Series 1 with great obsession. We've both become really attached to the characters, in particular Vorenus and Pullo. I've got lots of sock knitting done while watching it :)

We're also obsessed with watching Whose Line Is It Anyway? which is hilarious. It's an improvisation thingy with four comedians if you've not seen it. I'd recommend you watch it if you have the catch up on demand service!

Anyway.. WIPs. The horseshoe lace stole (well scarf really) is still coming on slowly but surely. I didn't think it had grown, but comparing it to my previous post it has grown a bit. I'm very happy with it though!

I finished the tiger socks. They weren't 100% successful, because when I dyed the yarn I made it mottled rather than stripey, and regretted it. So when I finished them I added stripes, but of course they are a little clumsy!

I got a parcel from the Border Tart last week, comtaining hand made tags, cards and hand spun yarn which is dreamy :) I used a tag for OH's Tiger Socks, isn't it cute!

Here are the socks drying. I had to wrap them so I got two logs and the poker and hung them in front of the fire :) they soon dried!

As you can see the darker one isn't as good, but I like the lighter one. OH really likes them :)

Benson, OH's clown hound loves them too ;)

Isn't he handsome!

I did this painting for OH some years ago, and thought you might be interested to see it. It's done in acrylics. The photo isn't great as OH's room is really dark :( but the flash made the colours look washed out.

And I have some *shop news*! I'm running a wee competiton to win yarn! All you have to do to enter is send me a wee email. Details are all there in the shop - http://wildfirefibres.etsy.com it's basically in the name of research!

I've been up to my dyeing shenanigans as usual.

Had a wee foray into pastels. I found it really hard to leave the colours looking weak! It was a real challenge, and is a little brighter than I was aiming for.

It's called Dream Time :)

This is Beach Party:

Wild Forest:

Strawberry Dreams:

Riverside:

You may recognise this, it's Giddyhop! I decided that as noone had bought it I'd change it. So I added a lovely rich blue and I'm really pleased with how it looks.

Blueberry Muffin (un reskeined):

Sea Spray (again, un reskeined):

And you may recognise this - it's Wild Tiger. It was mottled like the skein I used, but I decided to make it stripey. So it's orange and black stripes, and the orange bits have mottling too :) much better!

I've got a load of different bases coming too soon. Including BFL in 4 ply, DK and Aran, laceweight (2 ply) alpaca/merino, and hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll get some merino/tencel sock yarn too :) I'm really excited to delve into different yarn weights.

I'm knitting a pair of stripey socks too, I'm on the second one so once I finish I can get started on some patterned socks. Maybe jaywalkers, or something I got from CookieA that my lovely uk swap partner paid for me to get a pattern from.

Talking of my swap partner, I've not hear from her for a while and if she reads this I hope she's ok, I'm still dying to know she is!

I've done some spinning this weekend too, it's just blue and yellow merino on my drop spindle. The drop spindle is wonderfully portable but it's a little tedious I have to admit!

I'm starting work at Hobbycraft on Tuesday. It's interesting and inspiring, but boring at the same time. I'm working 10am-6pm Tues-Fri, and going to the gym every night after that, so it's going to be long days for the next few months. I really need to start getting my huge overdraft (both of them!) paid off!

That's enough rambling from me, hope you enjoyed the photos folks, and remember to check out the competition in my shop ;) I'm enjoying being an evil enabler! :p

Colour Experiments :)

2008-03-29T05:40:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being AWOL for ages! I did loads of dyeing last week, it's all gone now apart from one skein, and I'm dyeing again right now :) am very much enjoying it! I've finished a pair of socks (at the bottom), am halfway through some more socks, and my tiger socks are 75% done. Also my horseshoe lace stole is getting under way now, albeit very slowly!

So here's what I've been doing anyway.

Rainbow Feet:

Wild Fire:

Disco Feet:

Wild Forest:

Sea Spray (un-reskeined here):

Got the Blues:

Blueberry Muffin:

Poison Passion:

Rusty:

This is bamboo fibre, dyed silvery lilac:

And more bamboo in Wild Fire:

This is laceweight banana yarn. I can't put it in my shop because I don't know how many yards are in it! I've emailed the supplier but they never got back to me :( so it's languishing in my basket.

Did it in pink too:

These are my retro socks, in DK sock yarn. I love them!

And this is my horseshoe lace stole, which is now a couple of repeats longer. It's reeeally slow going, being that it's cobweb mohair on 2mm needles. It's making a really thick, warm fabric though.

So I'm going to go carry on dyeing anyway :)

Got my swap parcel(s)!!!

2008-03-12T10:42:00.000-07:00

YIPPEEE!

It was like christmas this morning! The dogs got really excited because I was so excited, and when they heard me ripping stuff open they got *even more* excited :)

So.... I don't yet know who my spoiler is, but I know she's awesome and couldn't have made better choices for me. I feel really lucky and really spoilt! I hope my spoiler also gets a fantastic parcel!

Here we are.. this is me opening it in the kitchen. I was going to rip it open then suddenly thought I'd best get my camera!

The card is a voucher to buy a sock pattern from CookieA.com, I've not decided which one to go for yet. The lovely box, is full of stuff, and obviously it's going to be put to good use!

On top you're seeing some beautiful fabric. It's yummy, it's chocolate coloured with blue leaves and the cream flowers. I'm not a sewing pro (yet!!), so I'm going to practice my sewing more before using this fabric. That also gives me lots of time to decide what to make with it!

Here it is spilling out!

A quick interlude to show you my wee helper. Holly thought it was very exciting and she was lucky enough to be in her bed under the table, so caught all the fun wrapping paper, and quickly recycled it for me.

Ok, here's what I got! Hand cream.. it smells delicious! I can't wait to try it out, and my hads are SO dry, so this is just perfect!

Wee charms, which I will make into stitch markers, and a pair of earrings with the seahorses, I'll get some pretty crystals to go with them, YEY!

And WOW, check out these needles.. they are the Namaste glass needles no less! And my spoiler got me them in the 4mm (OOPS - 5mm sorry!!) size which is brilliant, as it means I can do some lace projects on them :D The ends are a lovely dark swirly green, and glow in the sunlight :D

Knitting notelets! I'm really happy to have these, I've been considering getting some for ages so my spoiler's read my mind :)

Closeup of the fabric. It's gorgeous!

This is wool/soy silk for spinning. It is SO beautiful, it really is.

Colinette Point 5. What a good idea! I love the colour, and there's loads of great small projects I want to do with it!
Handmaiden!! Woo! The colour is totally perfect, the yarn is SO squishy... *drooooooool* what more can I say!

This is the highly coveted Manos del Uruguay yarn, it's just stunning!

And this is undyed laceweight, it's an unusual mix of 70% kamull and 30% tussahsilk.. however it's made in Finland so I need to do some research about it as my Finnish isn't too great!! It's very soft, shiny and lustrous anyway :)

This is a piccie of all the booty :) So I really want to say a really huge thankyou to my spoiler, who is also a mind reader, and an awesome person. *THANKYOUUUUUU!*

Also, as promised, here are my finished WIPs, a skiing hat for OH, and my blue socks which are already well worn!

Dyeing Photos

2008-03-10T10:56:00.000-07:00

I should wanr you: This post contains lots of photos and not so much typing! I do have some WIP news - I've knitted a beanie for OH in Tapestry, but it didn't hang around long enough for a photo, I will cath it when I can! My stole's coming on very slowly, blue socks are finished, retro socks started, tiger socks (actually more "tortoiseshell") well under way, and all that and no photos :( when I get home (I'm away just now) I'll take pics of it all! So for now I'll just show you all the dyeing I've been doing! I'm really enjoying it, wish I could do it for a full time job!

Anyway I'll get on with the yarn.

This is Pablo but more purpley this time:

Raven. It's pretty much black, but kind of glows a ridiculously dark red.

Wild Berries. A hideous combination of orange, pink and red, turned from ugly duckling into beautiful swan when I reskeined.

Got the Blues. Not reskeined there.

Hot Chocolate. Subtley variagated brown, essentially.

Wild Fire Merino Roving. Managed not to felt it this time.

Meadow Merino Roving (the name might change if I think of a better one!)

Rainbow Feet.

Suprisingly, looks nicer un-reskeined.

Thor. A classic. Turns out really quite different every time. Looks a bit tweedy perhaps?

And.. oh! That's it! I also have some beautiful exotic laceweight yarn (it's a surprise), but haven't got the knack of dyeing it yet.

I struggled not to buy some of the Mirasol yarn in JL yesterday. My stashalong WILL stay strong. It kind of helps that I'm dyeing all this yarn, it seems to be fulfilling my yarn needs despite it getting posted to other people at some point.

Wild Fire Fibres is Launched!

2008-02-29T09:56:00.001-08:00

Woohoo!

My brand spaking new shop is here, and it's at http://wildfirefibres.etsy.com ! I'm really happy with it, and am really addicted to dyeing yarn now!

Here's what I've been busy doing, ready for the shop.

Disco Feet sock yarn:

Giddyhop! Sock yarn (from the song "my boy lollipop (do-do do do), you make my heart go giddyhop (do-do do do)")

Pablo sock yarn:

Thor sock yarn (has come out more greeny than I was aiming for though):

Raven sock yarn (slightly redder than the laceweight I did):

And I'm sewing some accessories, such as this sparkly black DPN pouch.

So to all of you who have bought from me in the past, a really big thankyou for inspiring me to keep going and come up with new ideas. I hope you all enjoy my new shop, I'm really proud of it and hope you guys like it too!

Now I need to get back to my poor, neglected knitting!

Relaunch Update - Updated!

2008-02-27T10:21:00.000-08:00

Slight problem....

I currently live at home in Lancashire, but still have my flat on a lease in Dundee, as my contract is til July.. so I'm paying for a flat I don't live in until I find a new tenant for it. Well I got a phone call today from a lass who is very interested.. so tomorrow (Thurs) I'm driving up to Dundee, to show her round on Friday, and I'm driving home Friday afternoon.

Sooooo shop relaunch is going to have to wait. I'll try and do it on Friday evening if I can, otherwise it will be Monday! It's just typical that the past couple of weeks I've been quietly doing stuff, then when it all comes together something crops up to mess it all up!

Fingers crossed this lass will take my flat anyway! I'll keep you posted when I get back, and thankyou for the support so far, I know it's cheesey but it does mean a lot, and is very encouraging!

~ Vik

28.02.2008 - Scrap all the above. My landlord has really screwed me over (to cut a long story short!), so no going to Dundee, and the shop will be opening tomorrow as planned!

SoHo Hat and lots of yarn!

2008-02-26T12:06:00.000-08:00

I don't seem to have done much knitting this past week or so for some reason. Well I'm working towards the relaunch of my shop, on Friday (29th Feb - thanks Pixie for pointing that out :) ). I'm really excited about it and am enjoying the dyeing and making SO much!

I've also joined the gym, this is my third week, going every day except Sundays. I'm enjoying it and my fitness is rapidly improving. I'm very strong but have no stamina at all, and get out of breath worryingly quickly. So an hour a day, doing 30 mins cardio and 30 mins weights, and my breathlessness has greatly improved already :)

Anyway. I did knit this hat last week, and have barely taken it off ever since. It's so warm and snuggly and just loose enough that I don't get hat hair!

I made myself a DPN pouch using a vintage dress I got a few years ago from a charity shop. How's that for recycling!

And I'm doing my blue socks, which I semi-artfully photographed with the yarn in it's bowl and the DPN pouch. It's parter is on the needles and I'm just almost on the heel. I love this colourway!

And here's what I've been *really* busy doing.. dyeing up lots of yarn.

Laceweigh cashsilk in Starlet:

Laceweight cashsilk in Wild Crow (yes it's just black but it took 5 days of soaking to get it to go a solid black!):

Laceweight cashsilk in forget me Not:

Laceweight cashsilk in Wildly Indifferent. It's purple with black bits, this photo isn't terribly good.

Sock yarn in Wild Tiger:

Sock yarn in Wild Forest:

Sock yarn in my signature colourway (that sounds so much posher than the actual concept of it), Wild Fire:

And finally, sock yarn in Untitled:

There's quite a few more to come too, as I'm waiting for just one more order of sock yarn. I can't tell you how much I enjoy dyeing, it's just brilliant. You can be so experimental with it.

My WIPs are - blue socks, and a pair of legwarmers that I'm designing as I knit them. They're just simple cables really, but are in DK pure Alpaca... *droooool*. Pics will follow, I promise!

I'll do an update on Friday when I relaunch myself as Wild Fire Fibres, I'm really excited about it *looks sheepish*.

More FO's!

2008-02-18T10:52:00.000-08:00

Well I finally got to block my Epic Forest Canopy! I was away for a few days so blocked it on my bedroom floor. Strangely, the spikes aren't there! I did the pattern right but there just aren't any spikes.. it's really weird. I have to say I don't really care, I'm really happy with it, it's huge and lovely to snuggle into :)

Here it is lounging on Cedrus, our huge pine tree.

You can see the size of it more here. It's longer than my full arm span and reaches past my bum!

I loved the KidSilk Night to knit with and am really enamoured with this colour. It's a dusky blue.

I also finished my first endpapers. They're my first fairisle, and there's one mistake if you look closely ;) according to Liz from SnB these are done in Sanquhar style, not fairisle. I can't dispute or agree as I really have no idea!

Anyway, I'm really happy with them, and considering I forgot to check my needle size (I think they looked about 2.75mm), they've come out a perfect fit.. incredibly. I'll use the needle guage next time though.

They are for mum, and didn't take long at all, so I have a pair planned for me too. I found the colourwork a lot less of a challenge than I expected and was able to do it while watching the TV.

No it's not the beach. It's some arty looking part of our garden (the rest of the garden's been dug up by the dogs).

Next finished project - Unbiased from Knitty. Excellent yarn, it's the sari silk, and it's ace to knit with, though somewhat challenging as it has no 'give' whatsoever. I loved watching the colours though. (I'm easy to please like that).

It's not as deep as I'd have liked - I might pick up the edging and knit a few rows to deepen it.

I'm giong to line it, hopefully with some pale gold coloured satiny stuff.

And I've been busy dyeing again, my favourite few skeins look like this:

And finally.. the sky has looked like it's on fire the past few nights. It's stunning. I just love the really cold, crisp, sunny days.

Sooo my WIPs are all new and fresh! I've got my blue socks on the go. I'm not a fast sock knitter as I keep them just for TV and travelling knitting really. I've just cast on a black Hanami in loony boony (aka Baruffa Cashwool Lane Borgosesia). No beads for me! I've only done the first garter stitch rows anyway, so nothing to show really.

I've also cast on for a hat in DB SoHo, in the beautiful lilac and blue colourway. I've no idea what I'm doing with reagrds to how many sts to cast on, etc. So it's entirely guesswork and may get frogged a few times before success occurs. I've got a whole load of hats to knit up so should get my bum in gear!

On other notes, I'm writing up my first ever CV! I've always talked my way into jobs but have finally realised I should write up a CV. It's mind numbing...

Been tagged...

2008-02-13T14:37:00.000-08:00

No pics here! I've been tagged.. so here we go, five boring facts about me:

1. I'm addicted to blackberry and elderflower instant tea (from Whittards). Sadly it isn't natural, but it is very nice!

2. I have 2 stones to try and lose! I've joined my local gym and am watching the calories and fat I eat, and already feel fitter and better! Yey!

3. I'm hat ethe feeling of rubber. It gives me the heebiejeebies and makes my skin crawl. Specially the rubber on my toothbrush.

4. When I was 16 I went and got 8 ear peircings and a nose peircing all at once, while I was on my school lunch break. I really wanted my tongue pierced for some reason, but never did it!

5. I have a collection of about 30 stolen beer glasses, I also collect stamps (but haven't attended to my albums for a couple of years).

Over the Rainbow!

2008-02-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

Just a wee update.. I've not got much knitting done somehow, the Unbiased is in progress, as is the blue sock, and I've got the yarn and stuff ready to start a nice black Hanami.

My hands and arms, and in fact my legs, ankles, kneecaps etc are all rather painful, having been ripped to near-shreds by Holly. Mum's taken lots of pics, which I will nick and post up soon!

So when she's sleeping I've been creeping into the kitchen and doing some dying. My dying mojo is really good at the mo.

Here's a wee taster of what I've been doing. It will be in the shop soon, but not yet! (It's v fine 2 ply cash-silk)

It's unbelievably soft and shiny, perfect for potential nekkid stash diving.

I made these as well:

Soooo Ooh I jsut remembered, I'm doing my endpapers too, I'm on the second one and it's going well, surprisingly fast when I actually get round to it. I'm slightly disappointed that I'm getting bored of them already! I thought the fairisle would be a real challenge and it's kind of not :s

The other thing I should add is that after a lot of thought, I've decided that Viking Knits really doesn't reflect me and what I make, and that perhaps I should have come up with a better name. It was a play on my name really. Anyway, I'm heading towards a relaunch with a better name, and a fresh new inventory of luxurious yarns, some custom vintage needles, and possibly a few sewn projects, plus of course gazillions of stitch markers! I will keep you posted, and it won't be anything sudden as I really need to come up with something that reflects me and my ideas.

That was a lecture eh! I'm off to do some knitting, sculpting, dying, sewing.....

Finally Finished! Four FO's!

2008-02-02T08:55:00.000-08:00

I'm a happy bunny... I've finished the WIP's I wanted to finish in Jan. That being this hoodie to start with, modelled here by the sexy Johnny Depp. I know his body doesn't match his tanned face, he just has a severe tan line that's all ;)

Anyway, it's done in Drops Ice (half cotton, half acrylic), on 9mm needles, the pattern being from www.scandinavianknittingdesign.com It looks infinitely better on Mr Depp than it did when it was on the needles! I thought it was going to be hideous but it's pretty good!

Oops, had a hair cut. Well I'm sur eyou'll believe me that it really is Johnny, seeing as the top photo is clearly real. ;)

I also fiiiinally finished... an *epic* forest canopy! I spent about a month on it before Christmas, put it down, and have just spent another month on it. It's really big. Much bigger than it appeared on the needles.. in fact unblocked it's about 3 feet wide. I haven't yet found anywhere to block it that the dogs won't stand on it so it'll have to wait! It's lovely and big and snuggly though!

I've also finished this gnome.. he's for my Godfather.

And my Booga Bag, the first of a few I expect. Only took about ten days or so of TV knitting while watching episodes of Prison Break., which was not particularly relaxing. ^^

Below it's relaxing and enjoying the weather (ha!). That being hailstones you can see.

And finally but not least, this is our new addition:

Holly. Ten weeks old and unbelievably cute and waggy and licky and lovely :D

WIPs - (just cast on) - Unbiased from Knitty, socks for me, endpapers V1.0 (I'm on the second one). And the next decision is which lace project to cast on next! I'm thinking Hanami in my black loony boony....

[Insert title}

2008-01-24T04:16:00.000-08:00

Yippee a finished item already this year!

Here are my Godfather Socks. My own design but using a short row heel which I've never done before! The design is simply a 2x2 rib with cables between every two stripes. They look a really funny shape don't they ~

But they're actually a perfect fit :D I'm very chuffed. I love the short row heel, can't see myself going back to the heel flap heel now!

I've started a pair of Endpaper mitts too, these are for Mum and I have a planned pair for me too. I found the fairisle very fiddly at first but have found a technique for holding the two strands at once, and it's working beautifully. I'm finding it really easy now that I've got into it and I'm already onto the gusset! There's been quite a lot of progress since this pic.

I've also started a booga bag, mostly because I wanted some mindless knitting, and that's going well. Photo's will follow I assure you ;)

Check this out~

2 ply cashmere! Oooh yeah! Sent to me by a very nice person on Ravelry :) it's beautifully soft and will probably make a lovely Hanami, or other similar pattern. There's quite a lot of yardage so I might be knitting with it for a while :D

I've been busy dying again, this if my favourite colour, it's Wisteria because the purple has split a bit and there are paler and darker bits. Not intentional but I'm very happy with it!

And finally, how could I resist super-cute miffy. She's not adorning earrings, stitch markers and soon row markers. And anything else I think of! I know, I'm sad like that!

Soooo WIPs.. Well OH's hoodie is very nearly done, in fact I'm going to try and finish it today and give it him tonight. The yarn came yesterday so no excuse now, sadly.

Forest Canopy.. is coming along nicely now, though the rows are getting quite long. I'm almost onto the thrid ball of Kidsilk Night. The second ball I've only had about 4 repeats out of, so the third one I'll have to watch I don't run out before the end.

I'm also sewing up some stuff hopefully to put in the shop when I have a few things done. I'm enjoying the sewing, I couldn't not though could I, seeing as I'm using a 48 year old Viking Husqvana (sp?) sewing machine. It's like the rolls royce of the sewing mahcine world, it goes like a dream!

Anyway.. I'm off to carry on with the zillion things I have on the go. I'm keeping as busy as poss what with all the mess over the OU. I can't start my course til October and I was all ready to go for the 1st Feb, so I'm a bit down about that as I feel that I'm not using my brains much :(

Ah well, ciao for now!

Ooh, another update!

2008-01-15T03:59:00.000-08:00

Another update! So Soon! Get me! Actually it's mostly stuff I forgot to put in the previous one.

So here's my first Finished Object of the year. Actually I tell lies, it still needs a flap on the inside to stop the needles coming out. But it's largely finished!

I'm rather chuffed with it! I'm a totally self taught sewer, and this is my first project (apart from hemming every single pair of pants I've ever bought). My sewing vastly improved over the course of making this, primarily just by keeping it in a straight line.

The ribbon is realy nice, it's purple with silver edging :) messily sewn on, seeing as I got it caught in the needle and it went off in the wrong direction!

The material's nice too isn't it? It looks wrinkled but I suppose it will be being rolled up.

Ok, next I did some more dyeing, this time it's called Raven, as it's really dark red.

Made myself some business cards and yarn tags.

The cards need improving, but they're a start.

Found a fantastic bead shop nearby and made these:

Cute eh!

And these:

Here's the Twilley's Freedom Spirit my lovely OH got me for Christmas. It's for a felted bag, and he got three balls and couldn't find another two, so I'm still waiting for another two balls of it. Isn't it lovely!

I got this in the sales, it's Rowan Romance. I thought it'd make a lovely, simple stole. Not lace or anything, just plain.

And some SB Soho, which is gorgeous. This is really for a nice cabled hat. For some reason my hats never ever turn out right, so i'm determined that when I eventually get round to this one it will turn out well!

And finally Jaeger Matchmaker 4 ply, for Mum's endpaper mitts.

Oh no not quite! There's more! I got this goregous Rowan Biggy Print in black from my swap partner Amy, in the UK Swaps group. Yey!

So.. I'm a confirmed co host in the UK Swap. I've got most of my prizes ready to send out, photo's will follow shortly.

OTN:

~ Godfather Socks (almost done!)

~ Gnome (also almost done!)

~ FC (still on hold :( poor FC)

~ OH Hoodie (almost done, waiting for yarn)

~ Major Hemming operation on OH's pants

UK Swap Questionnaire

2008-01-13T09:25:00.000-08:00

Well as I'm sponsoring the UK Swap for the UK Swap group on Ravelry, and possibly co-hosting, I thought I should probably sign up and do my questionnaire ;)

Part One: Crafting

Do you knit, crochet, or both? Knit!

What do you like to make? Lace, socks, well anything actually!

Do you have a favourite project? No! (Sorry!)

Do you have a favourite type of fiber or brand of yarn? I particularly like natural fibres, apart from that I'm a sucker for just about everything!

Do you have a least favourite type of yarn? Well I don't like acrylic for garments etc, (it has it's place though - I'm no snob here ;) )

Do you do any other crafts? Spinning, jewellery making, photography, drawing, sewing, painting, weaving.. amongst other things ;)

What knitting do you bring ‘on the go’? Socks, or fingerless mitts, maybe a hat. But mostly socks.

What do you carry your ‘on the go’ knitting in? Anything to hand!

Do you want something new? Who doesn't.. sorry that's not helpful is it.. ok, can I ask for an alpaca? Ok ok I'll be sensible, can I have a wensleydale sheep then?

Are there any knitting gifts (book, toy, yarn, item, tool) that you have been lusting over? Errrrrr well mostly expensive things, you know like those lovely glass needles and stuff. I'll have a think while I write the rest of this!

Part Two: Your Favourites

What is your favourite colour? Purple

What is your least favourite colour? Orange and green (pea green that is, turquoise and dark greens are lovely)

What scents/smells do you like? I don't like anything heavily scented, it usually gives me a headache :( but if it's very mild I like musk and vanilla.

What don’t you like? Oops, I said it above didn't I..

How do you like to pamper yourself? (bubble bath, hand creams, massage, manicure) Actually I sit down and do my knitting or play world of warcraft! I don'd do baths, massages, manicures, creams, or anything like that (very sad I know!)

What goodies to you like to treat your tummy with? (chocolate, biscuits, truffles, etc.) *siiiiiigh* (that was a dreamy sigh) Truffles... you know like the viennese ones from Thornton's? I love things like that. Love fruit and nut, white choc, fondant filled choc (the ones with the most cals in usually), and a good sunday roast :p

Do you prefer tea or coffee while you knit? Tea tea tea! I love tea! Fruit tea and normal Twinings... yum!

Any particular kind? Oops did that again...

Favourite mug/cup? Eeyore mugs (I have a few), and my snowman teapot/mug

Do you listen to/watch anything while you knit? (TVshow-Along, movies, music, podcasts) I *always* have music on, I love listening to Radio 2, and I occasionally watch TV when I'm home - usually for a movie.

Part Three: Living & Past-times

Where do you live in the UK? (General idea not address) Lancashire

Have you always lived here, or did you grow up somewhere else? Nope, I'm a proper Lancashire Lass. I have spent 4 years in Dundee though and become very attached to it!

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go? I'd go everywhere! Particularly Iceland and Norway.

If you couldn’t go to a knitting group, what other kind of gathering would you go to? (book club, tea party, yoga class, jewelery class, etc.) Dance classes, spinning class.. Actually I'd just stay in and knit mostly.

What’s your style? (elegant, traditional, glamourous, girly, natural, sporty, outgoing, etc.) Eclectic. Sorry I know that's not helpful. If I tell you my hobbies you might get the general gist - I dance, shoot (with a shotgun or rifle), sew, knit, do photography, play world of warcraft, go to the gym, love my dogs..... Eurgh this is hard. Ok, I'll try and help you out a bit more. I'm not girly at all. But apart from that my style just about encompasses everything. *Tears hair out* You'll just have to guess, sorry!

Final Part:Any allergies/preferences (fiber-wise or treat-wise)? Nothing really smelly, I'm allergic to penicillin so no antibiotics please if you were thinking of sending some :p

Anything we missed that you’d like your partner to know? I feel sorry for the person who's got me, I must be a nightmare. Oh and I still haven't thought of any small knitting gadgety type things that don't cost loads.

Happy New Year!

2008-01-10T07:15:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!

Here's hoping the new year will bring health, wealth and happiness to you all! :)

I've been pretty AWOL for a while, I was insanely busy over the festive period.. ok so I still am, but not to the same degree!

I have a long post here, and have missed out many knittted presents that I forgot to photograph, amongst other things.

First off I recieved this gorgeous hand dyed yarn from BabyLongLegs, aka Sarah - Thankyouuuu! I've done a tiny bit of weaving with it on my wee loom, and it's fantastic. Pics will ensue once I decide what to use it for!

Shortly before Christmas I went to the spinning class at Alston Hall. I met a lovely group of people there, and had a really enjoyable day. I spun on my spindle, and in the afternoon had a go on a wheel, which was brilliant!

Over the course of the day I spun up the natural coloured singles you see below, and in the weeks afterwards I slowly made my way through my own hand dyed sliver/roving/whatever the term is. I plied them together and finished up with this rather pleasing yarn!

It's not photographed too well, it's under the bright influence of my craft lamp that I recieved for Christmas. What a good idea! Anyway...

Ok, next, not knitting, but equally as pleasurable - snow! Yippee!

We had loads :D waist deep in some places, and knee deep in most places. We went sledging and built a huge snowman. What fun!

Ok this isn't exactly in chronological order - going back to christmas, my lovely OH got my this ace snowman teacup/pot! He also got me some delicious fruit tea, yarn and knitting books - he's incredibly well trained. I will remember to photograph the yarn for th enext update. It'll just be in the wrong update that's all!

Ok going back again, here's what I made for a member of my family, and they were really well appreciated ;)

Here's Timmy:

And Shaun:

His knitting needles are what I'm particularly proud of!

And Timmy's mother:

Ok so now we're moving forward again in time. HEre's my first ever short row heel. YEy! I love it! It's a sock for my Godfather in as close to the Welsh colours as I had in stash! It's also ribbed with a cable that I've added.

I love the short row heel, it's infinitely neater and nicer than the standard heel.

Here's my latest, well first-for-a-long-time sewing project. A DPN holder. It's only semi done, I've just done the pockets, I need to get material for the outside and a flap and a ribbon, then it'll be done. There's surprisingly more work in one of these than there appears to be.

My sewing needs some serious improvement!

And finally - some Sugar Plum that I dyed yesterday, which I'm very pleased with!

My WIPs are:

- Socks for Godfather

- Gnome for Godfather (his birthday was actually laszt week)

- FC in KSN (been sadly languishing on hold for a good month)

- Hoody for OH (need more yarn!)

- DPN roll

I've got nso many ideas, it's just finding time to do them all!

Ok, I'll do my new year's resolutions:

- Start designing (I've got the ideas, just need to do them)

- Start paying off my three overdrafts *gasp/sigh*

- Lose weight (ha)

- Do well with my course!

- Update this more regularly!

So... I'm off now to take pics of all the things I forgot! Like the yarn my OH got me, the books, the yarn I got in the sales, etc etc.

Dyeing, Spinning etc

2007-12-14T15:24:00.000-08:00

Been really busy this week, working on Christmas presents, which are going ok but I'm starting to panic!

Anyway, here are my adventures.

First I dyed up a sample skein, in 100% laceweight lambswool. It's called SugarPlum :)

So I was really happy with that, so went ahead and dyed up some BFL roving.

BUT managed to semi felt it. Doh!

I decided to try and spin it anyway. Since I only know how to spin via pre-drafting, it meant I could pre draft the lot, then spin it. I'm looking forward to learning to spin 'properly' (ie without predrafting).

Looks a bit Noro-esque to me, mostly because the colours are darker than I expected, and it's semi felted. Anyway I dyed up two lots of singles.

Then plied them.

Making this nifty wee skein. I'm very happy with it :)

There's not many yards though. I think once I've got a pile of small sample skeins I will knit them all up into an abstract scarf, hand dyed, hand spun and hand knitted :D

I dyed some bright red lambswool too :) just to be different!

Little update

2007-12-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

WEll I can't really post much because I'm knitting all Christmas presents, so if you know who I am on Ravelry you can see my projects there ;) (I'm about to go update there).

So no WIPs to show you I'm afraid on here. But I can show you some yarn I dyed, it's 2 ply lambswool. I've got loads of ideas for the shop but finding time to do them all is the hindrance ;)

Anyway here's my 'Ice' colourway which I really like (I know, I'm biased).

I'm making handpainted/sketched personalised tags for everything which I Think is a rather nice touch, and it's enjoyable for me!

I also made a load of Jack Skellington stuff, which I really enjoyed too. Here are the earrings, hanging on my pretty purple pin (well one of them)!

So apart from Christmas presents, my other WIPs are the FC, which is really getting long, I'm nearly at the end of the second out of three balls of Kidsilk Night. Obviously WIPs for me have completely taken a back seat since Christmas isn't far away. I'm also doing that retro sock. I had to frog it all because I cast on too many stitches! I'm nearly to the heel. Actually I'll take some pics of that and the FC and will update with them :)

Haven't got any spinning done recently :( but I'm going on a day course soon, which should be brilliant!

My OH got me the book 'Spin to Knit', which I would highly recommend!

Ooh just thought, if you're a member of the UK Swaps group on Ravelry, they are having a load of contests and I'm proud to be sponsoring one of them.. how exciting!

Ciao for now then!

Lots of exciting stuff!

2007-12-01T08:01:00.000-08:00

First an apology - I've been AWOL for a bit, due to having been at my parents' place for a bit. I kept up taking photos of everything though ;)

Lots has happened.. I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show in Harrogate with Mum and friend Lyn, I recieved a drop spindle from Yoshimi, and taught myself to spin (with lots of daft questions on the forum). Then yesterday was my birthday which was nicely relaxing and squishy :D

Here's my spindle (poorly photographed). Embarassingly, I didn't have the slightest clue how to use it, as I hadn't even seen one used before. So after some googling and asking questions on the AY forum, I figured it out!

Here's my first singles wrapped on my latest hi-tech gadget.. the loo roll.

And here it is all plied, my first mini skein of Blue Faced Leicester which I got from D&T Crafts,

HEre's my second mini skein, but it's a bit bigger. It's a littleuneven but I rather like it. I found it tricky getting the twist right, I felt it should be well twisted, but that was too much, so I had to let it untwist a little. It seems, so far, that the hardest thing (apart from juggling it all about to ply), is getting the twist right.

And here's what I did last night. My OH's up for the weekend so he helped by holding the loo roll bobbins when I wound it off for plying. This is merino wool, pre dyed and I pre drafted it. There's 25g so prob not much yardage. I'm thinking of buying two more lots of the same stuff and spinning it all so that I could knit a hat.

I'm rather pleased with this, I got it quite even.

Close up:

Here's some ladybirds I made for Fluzzlewett, aka Jacqui. I think they're really cute!

I've made loads of stuff for the shop recently, lots of rainbow stuff and clay stuff and that. These are my favourites though, even though they're small and simple! ;)

Ok here's my booty from Harrogate!

Here's the list:

- 3 balls purple wool for a felted bag,

- 2 skeins sari silk for another bag

- blue sock yarn

- purple sock yarn

- pink and purple sock yarn

- Chunky blue wool for a hat

- Kid Classic

- 3 balls alpaca for leg warmers

- purple DPNs

- Sock circs

- bamboo circ for FC OTN

- 2 bags 100g BFL from DT Craft

- 1 bag 50g baby yak hair (DROOL!)

- Pink acid dye

- some beads

- The Tea Cosy book

Considering how much I got, I didn't spend that much! I had a considerable amount of cash left over anyway :)

Here's some close ups!

Sari silk:

Chunky blue wool:

Blue sock yarn:

Purple sock yarn:

Multi coloured sock yarn:

Here it is being knitted on the circ. It's a 30cm one though, and is actually too big. I didn't get on with it at all so I'm back to my trusty DPNs!

Here's some beautiful handspun, hand dyed wool that my lovely Godfather got me for my bday! Isn't he ace!

Purple:

That's going to stay in a skein and be drooled over for a while before I decide what to do with it.

My OH got my Spin to Knit too, which is excellent. Also my Mum got me Jan Messent's Knitted Garden book, which is brilliant! My OH's also booked me a place on a day course for spinning on Dec 21st, which will be awesome, and my Step Dad has got me a year's subscription to the National Geographic!

OTN I have my FC (still!), which is getting big now, well I'm at around 300 stitches I think, and am on the second ball. Also I'm nearly done on my Step Dad's socks, I have my sock (that's just for simple knitting while watching a DVD etc). Also I'm doing my OH's hoody (success not guaranteed), and a hat for Mum, and the Shawn the sheep figures from Simple Knitting. Phew! What a list! I still have tonnes to do too! So I should stop rambling and go and get on! I need to upload my new stash to Ravelry though.. ;)

Ciao for now!

I've been truly spoilt this week!

2007-11-17T06:04:00.000-08:00

When will I ever learn.. I should really update more often, then it wouldn't take me ages just to get all the pics right! I was going to have them all neatly arranged but it never works out so I'm sticking with a column/all centred.

Anyway, first of all a Finished project! Yippee! It's the Fish Trap Scarf, from Arctic Lace by Donna Druchunas, and the yarn is Lucy Neatby Celestial Merino in Seashells, given to me by MazzaM from the AY forum :D

In my opinion, once the lace pattern was set up, this was a no-brainer, which was great! It was knit down the length, so the rows were very longand I think I preferred doint it this way round. The only problem is that is does curl when you put it on, despite a thick garter stitch border.

Beautiful colours eh. It's going to be a Christmas present, but I don't know who for yet!

I made this pin cushion for my Tea Swap (Ravelry) partner. She's no idea who she is! Teehee! What fun! I love this tactile little pebble! I'm going to make more!

Not greatly photographed due to unnatural light - sorry about that!

If you're a World of warcraft fan you'll like these stitch markers I made.. if not - try it out it's awesome!

We went to see Bill Bailey in Glasgow last week, he was awesome, hilarious, we were clapping and laughing from before he came on stage until well after he left :)

Anyway it meant a trip to John Lewis in Glasgow :) so I got sock yarn for pressies. I got white, because I'd like to design some skully socks for OH if I get chance.

And blue for socks for Dad.

My OH bought me this - it's Mirasol Hacho again, but in a different colourway. It's lush!

And here's the truly spoint bit! First I took part in a fingerless mitt swap, and I recieved a brilliant parcel from Donnae, who sent me roving, wee charms, a pack of textiles which I'd like to weave with, soap, and of course a lovely pair of mitts! They're much warmer than my Fetchings and I've worn them loads! :) They're Rowan Kid Classic, they are really lush, I'm chuffed to bits with them!

And yesterday I got a huge box in the post. The postie was quite surprised when I said "oh that's fantastic, thanks"! IT's the Tea Swap from Ravelry (The Cup a Tea group). Look how much stuff I got spoilt with!

My swappee, Sophia, lives in New Hampshire, and tried to send me as much local stuff as poss. Even the packaging the stuff comes in is really pretty!

First, Gypsy Tea, Rasberry Earl Grey.. YUM!

And Pomegranate Oolong. YUM! This smells particularly good!

Tea scented chocs, green tea lozenges, and I got some orange mints too. These all come in proper packets! I'm so impressed! They are all really yummy too!

And the yarn.. first the softest, most beautiful chunky merino/silk. The colours remind me of a storm, and.. it's just so lush I'm totally in love with it! The yarn Sophia sent was all natural - what a star! And it'll all spend quite a lot of time on display on my yarn shelves being squished and drooled over before I use it I think!

This is laceweight silk, 600 yards!! Lilac! Wow! It's incredibly soft and lush, and again, has been well squished and lusted over! I'm also really grateful that it's in a cake, as I don't (yet) have a swift!

And this is some hand dyed, beautiful dark stormy green Merino. Again, it's incredibly soft and lush, and I'm totally in love with it. It's a much nicer green than those socks I knitted!! It reminds me of the Scottish countryside, with the dark undergrowth under the heather. Lush!!

Sophia also included two beautiful patterns for lace shawls, what a fantastic choice!! Also stitch markers which I forgot to ask if she made herself, sugar skulls which are too cool to eat! And crafty themed badges which are pinned to my bag, and a lovely note from her! Afterwards she pm'd me to tell me all about New Hampshire as well, which I found really interesting. I should also add that the Pomegranat tea is in Proper Bags! They are little silky tea bags! They are so pretty that I've pinned a couple on my wall, which is incredibly sad I know (my OH thinks it's hilarious).

So... phew! I'm SO spoilt! Not only that but next week I'm going to the KNitting and Stitching show in Harrogate with my Mum for my birthday, and I've been saving up for it - both money and ideas. So it's all very exciting!

My current WIPs are - Forest Canopy (getting BIG), Ken's socks (1/4 through the pair), Oh's hoodie (success questionable), and I'm goign to start on the gnomes - I'm gonna make a load of bodies to start with (slightly creepy).

I've also made some Christmas stuff - buttons, stitch markers etc. And am dying more laceweight lambswool this week for the shop. Yey! It's very tempting to use it ;)

I'm going home for a week on Wednesday, so will get a lot of knitting done, and lots of dog walking no doubt :)

I'd better go and get on eh! Ciao for now ;0

Socks!

2007-11-08T07:56:00.000-08:00

Finally!! The horrible green socks are finished! Ok so one's about a third bigger than the other because I lost the pattern.. but they are wearable! And lovely and warm!

Below you can see them without colour. I love this photo though. Sepia does have a place in modern society!

Ok you can have colour now. Here's why they are horrible! They were my first dyeing attempt back in the summer. It went wrong as you can see. It's a shame I don't like green.

Ok I'm working on the Fish Trap Scarf from the Arctic Lace book. I'm also a mod now on the Arctic Lace Group on Ravelry :D wahey! It's being done in Lucy Neatby celestial merino in Seashells colourway. It's beautiful!

I finally got my backside into gear and did some dying. This is my 2 ply lambswool.

I strongly believe there's no enough purple yarn in the world, so I thought I'd do my bit to put this right ;)

This came in the post:

It's Rowan Tapestry in Leadmine. Yum!

This Drops came too. 11 balls of red and two of black, for OH's hoody. Need to measure him then get knitting!

And finally, I discovered this technique for using with clay, so had a go. I've made a load of buttons in different colours :D I see them adorning bags and that, some or glazed, some not.

So.. WIPs - Arctic lace, fingerless mitt swap mitts (almost done), and Forest Canopy (still!).

I've had a go at making Christmassy buttons and stitch markers too :D it's much fun!

A Very Varied Post

2007-10-31T07:55:00.000-07:00

Phew.. it's taken forever to upload all these photo's!

I'm not getting tonnes of knitting done at the mo, because I'm somehow busy with other stuff, I'm not sure how, but I seem to be insanely busy without getting much done.. how does that work?

So first I'll show you the gloriousness of Scotland.

And looking north towards the Aviemore area.

Images are all clickable if you want to see them *even bigger*!

My camera battery ran our shortly after, which was incredibly unprepared of me but forced me to see the world through my own eyes instead of through a camera lens!

Ok here's the knitting bit. This is the jumper, which was fine to knit, quick even, but oh the finished garment was another kettle of fish (which when you think about it is rather a strange saying.).

The shoulders were so baggy it wouldn't stay up, and they wouldn't fold over, so I sewed the down, hoping that if it was folded it would hold it up a bit (it's supposed to be folded by the way).
So I did that, but it didn't make much difference, so on each shoulder I put a thread round the top and pulled it tight, so the shoulder tops were kind of gathered up, if that makes sense.

Anyway that's how they are now, and it fits better, but still falls down a bit. Also the front's short, and I followed the pattern exactly (for once), and the measurements are right. It is insanely stretchy, so I can pull the front down a bit.

I'm hugely disappointed with the pattern, it was great to knit but the finished garment just doesn't behave itself. It's good for slouching about, and is very warm despite being mostly acrylic.

I could only get photos of the top I'm afraid, but the rest is stocking stitch with a ribbed bottom and cuffs.

It's notoriously hard to photography black, particularly in a dark flat on a dark Scottish day!! So I hope you can actually see it a bit.

I'll just explain about this - the pentacle represents the five elements - fire, earth, water, air, and at the top point - soul - which brings the rest together. Also the circle around the tips encapsulates the elements and is the never ending cycle of life and death.

(People who are "satanists" and follow "occult" (depends how you define these, hence the "), turn this upside down, putting soul at the bottom and removing the circle - breaking up the elements and destroying the soul - often known as a pentagram which is associated with occult practice).

Anyhow.. lecture over ;) I hope that wasn't too boring!

It's only long enough for one wrap and one end to dangle, so I button it at the neck. It's also *ridiculously* warm. So warm in fact that I've not been able to wear it yet! lol!

(I hope you can't actually see up my nose there)

My OH was up for the weekend too so I kntted these Fetchings for him in Wendy Fusion. I did them one cable repeat smaller, so they are a great fit and kept his hands warm on the very cold walk we went on.

He was very chuffed with them :D

And I was chuffed with him, because he's so incredibly well trained... look what he brought me!!

Mirasol Hacho... isn't it just divine!

Two skeins of beauty. *Droooool*

I do already have one skein of blue and one of this pink, so now have 3 of the pink altogether. I've no idea what I'll do with it, but for now I'm happy to fondle it and lust over it :D

My parents came over last week, and brough the hounds, which was ace. Inca (the black one) took a flying leap onto my cosy double bed, only to land about 5cm higher than she started, as my mattress's on the floor. The look of surprise on her face was priceless :D

Bonnie, below, claimed the sofa, including three cushions and my best sheepskin rug. My Grandma went mad!

Here you can see her sulking having been moved.

I know I'm biased but I don't think she looks 12 :D She's pulling a face here because she doesn't like having her pic taken, so she's looking all coy. She's a wolf in sheep's clothing, you can't leave her with the knitting or stash, she'd rip it up!

Ok here's the non-knitting stuff. Well it's kind of knitting. There's an abundance of strawberries for some reason.

Strawberry earrings:

Strawberry buttons:

Sheep buttons:

Bertie the Blueberry stitch markers:

Sheep stitch markers... my sheep do all have wee eyes and noses on them, which look really cute.. except I can't get them to show up on photos! Grr!

They also have wee bobbly feet which I think are really cute.

Oh more strawberries!

I'm going to get these on etsy now. eBay, sorry greedBay are having a half price listing day on Thurs, so I'll be listing them then. I think it's a lot to pay a 50p listing fee for something you're making say £1 profit on, then be charged 20p commission too... I'm off my soapbox now don't worry!

I've just made some cute carrot buttons too, they need cooking and glazing yet though!

So, WIPs this week - finish green sock, arctic lace, forest canopy, swap mitts, and mitts for the nice lady in the charity shop. Also want to wind off some 2 ply yarn for dying! And also I've just posted off the application for the OU :D

Ravelry Baby!

2007-10-19T04:09:00.000-07:00

I'm in I'm in I'm in!!!
I'm VikingKnits on there, and I love it! It was very addictive uploading all my stash, projects and stuff, and it's a brilliant resource. For example I wanted to see what I could do with one skein of Colinette Point 5, so I had a look at all the projects done in the yarn and found some great stuff!

Anyway, my Forest Canopy's going slowly but well. I have loads on the needles right now, and knitting with mohair is a skill in itself!! I have found I have made the same mistake now on every Forest Canopy I've knitted. I'm wondering if when I purl back accross the WS if I'm picking up a stitch or purling two together by accident. I'll explain below.

You can see the left side on the left, which is fine, and compare it to the right side, on the right (assuming this stays how I laid it out when I save). I'm not entirely sure what the mistake is, but if someone can tell me that'd be great!

I unpicked that and redid it and it was fine. I'm now much further on, and am doing it quite slowly so as to be sure with the stitches. The other thing is that the yarn isn't of a great contrast from the colour of my Addi Turbos, so it can be difficult to see. If I can get some bamboo circs I will use them instead.

The pictures below are from yesterday, it's now two repeats bigger.

Ok, I had to take pics of my latest stash for Ravelry, so I've put some below.

First, Mirasol Hacho, in blue, then in pinks. It's 100% Merino, and is sooooo lush! I don't know what I'll do with it but it's so beautiful I'm happy just looking at it!

*drooooooool*

This is Trendsetter Tonalita, for the Cerulean project from Knitter's, Fall 07. It's designed as a table runner, but I'd like to use it as a wall hanging. It's a series of squares, that are crocheted together in a diamond pattern.. if that makes sense. I've never crocheted so it'll be fun!

Below is Jaeger Matchmaker 4 ply in lilac. I have it in this and black for my endpaper mitts when I eventually get round to them! I've never done colourwork so that'll be fun as well!

This week I had a crazy idea. I thought I'd enter the embroidery competition on Craftster , having never embroidered in my life, and having two weeks to learn, design and make it. It was for two pillowcases, depicting opposite ideas, and I was going to do summer and winter. BUT... I can't afford to go buy the stuff for the summer one, so I've had to give up on the idea.

However, I did teach myself to embroider and really enjoyed it!! So with my new skills, I'm going to still make a winter wall hanging for my Mum for Christmas! :D

Here's a small amount of my practising piece....

The other day I had a request on eBay (greedBay), to make these strange, scary, slightly cute, rabbity things from an anime film called Spirit Away.

I personally think they are terrifying.

I made these cute strawberries, tried to give them wee faces but couldn't pull it off, so left them plain. I quite like them, but will try again.

And here's some of my successful ones. I made a set of ghosts, called George Ghost. He has a wee tail that you can't see too!

These are being copyrighted (I'm a meany I know), because they are my own design and I'd be upset if I got ripped off basically.

On a nicer note... below is Peter Pumpkin, and Timothy Tomato, as you can see they are dancing about trying to avoic being squished into sandwiches!!

I think I'm going to make these into Keyrings too, and give them my friends for Christmas! I think they'd be cool wee presents! The only thing is I'm wondering if I should glaze them.. I'll give it a try and see what happens.

Aren't they cute!!!

Anyway, Mum's lace scarf is coming along slowly, it's 272 stitches, because it's knitted lengthwise. The Lucy Neatby is beautiful if somewhat impractical, and it's a great chance to test my stitch markers for being snag free seeing as I'm using about 20 of them!!

My Blur jumper's knitting up fast, I'm halfway up the font and have finished the back, so it'd be great to do it before my Grandma visits next week if I can (not sure).

My moss socks are *finally* getting done, I'm on the heel so will finish them soon I hope!

I do have other news... if you're not asleep by now :p

I'm registered to start with the OU in Febuary, starting with two modules, which I'm very excited about - Child Development (attachment, psychosis, etc), and Biological psychology (neurotransmitters, depression, exploring the brain etc). These are two of my favourites, I have tonnes of notes on it all, and books, so I'm just waiting for the forms to confirm it all now :D

Cabled Hat is finished!

2007-10-15T14:03:00.000-07:00

You know I think I'm getting old before my time. My idea of enjoying my evening is sitting with my pyjama pants on (nice and baggy and comfy), with a brew and the rythm and blues programme on radio 2 on, and doing my knitting! I choose to call it being "arty" or "cultured"! Oh and on my couch I have a lovely warm sheepskin rug to prevent my sciatica - that bit's definitely old fashioned!! good job I don't a) have any visitors, and b) care what other people think!! I did have my friends, who are three male geeks living next door but 3 (ish), and they totally loved the cosiness and "coolness", which I was appreciative of, though I think they just said it to make me happy!!

Anyway, this hat was not all that pleasurable to knit, the pattern was something like this: *K2, (T2,K2) 2 times, C12, repeat from * - that's not exact but you get the picture. So I found the stitches got really tight because the twists were on every row. So it acutally hurt my hands, but I rather like it now that it's done! I do like the colour though! I wore it out today and the girls in my LCS (local craft shop) admired it :D

Look at that face!! Below you can see me laughing at myself because of the one above!! I looked stoned and mighty pissed off!!

So just so you can see that I can smile in pics ^^ !!

Well I couldn't only have two projects on the go could I?? So I cast on for *another* forest canopy, in Rowan Kidsilk Night, in a beautiful smoky blue colour, with aded twinkles :D Here's my baby FC below (aww):

It's bigger now, I'm doing it slowly because I want to get it right because this stuff's inpossible to frog! It's very hairy!! I've had it ages so it's time I used it.

I played with some Sculpey again today, I have loads of ideas, but pulling them off is actually not that easy to be honest, and quite a lot of gone wrong. The ones that went right though are Jack Skellington, below. I'm pretty happy with these! Will be making them again, they are much fun!

I wanted to make some cute sheep. Well I did, but as I half expected, the ears are too brittle. They looked bald with no ears though! So I made them anyway, and lo and behold the first one's ears came off :( I'm not sure how I can get round this, so these poor, folorn looking sheep, with metal bits impaling them, are sat on my desk for the forseeable future!!

awwwwwwwwwwwwww :(

I also wanted to make a ball of yarn with two needles in it. I think this looks ok, but not 'yarny' enough. I tried wrapping it the same as a ball of yarn, but being clay it didn't go so well. I will keep experimenting with this as I think it'd look cool if I could do it.

I've also had a request to make the cute/scary rabbity htings from Spirited Away, so will start on that tomorrow.

I also made some 'posh' stitch markers! They are posh because they have peach Swarovski crystals on, and glass beads, but they get inverted commas because they are inexpensive! They are really sparkly! I love em!

I'm really busy at the mo, I don't know how I had time for uni!! I've cast on a lace scarf for Mum, I expect progress will be slow because it's knit lengthwise, I will take progress pics soon anyway. I'm nearly done on the back piece of my Blur jumper as well, and the green sock is soooo slow and boring, I need to get my ass in gear and do it!! I need to get knitting socky presents!!

So ciao for now, back to my brew, radio 2, sheepskin rug, and knitting :D

If giants needed mittens...

2007-10-13T08:58:00.000-07:00

This is what they would be like!!! ->

Huge!

These are my first christmas present, I know it's only October (I nearly wrote September then!), but I have loads to do, so thought I'd make a start. These are felted mitts, done in Paton's Jet, which is a beautiful blend of 70% Alpaca, 30% Wool. It felts beautifully as you'll see below!!

Before.......

....... and after!

This was on a 40 degree economy wash, and they have shrunk absolutely loads, they are lovely and thick now! Can you tell I wish they were for me! :p

Anyway... because I was doing said mitts, this hat, in Wendy aran with wool, got put on hold. I can't say i'm particularly enjoying it, and there's a lot of T2, which makes the stitches tight, and I dont think is overly attractive. A typical row has P2 (or K2), T2 a few times, then cables, then the twists again, so it's not easy because of tight stitches and being fiddly. Not only that but the pattern doesn't seem to show up very well in this colour!! So I'll crack on with it now, and see how it goes. I'm sure it'll be ok, but don't think I'll do this pattern again. Specially not as a cable beginner!

I do love the colour though, I have to admit.

I've been busy today playing with clay, and have made these wee Bobombs, from Mario. I have to say I think they're adorable, and I'm thinking of making a few big ones to give to my friends as keyrings (they are 3 guys who are all geeks so would totally appreciate these).

As usual, here come my bit of self marketing (sorry) - they can be found at http://VikingKnits.etsy.com

I also made these today! My first crack at making my own knitting needles - well the toppers anyway! They are bamboo 4mm needles, and I baked the toppers onto them, using clay and glass beads. I think they're really cool, and hope to make more, but they are pretty expensive to make, so I'll probably not make many.

They are actually purple and red, not blue as they appear here!

And ooh! I nearly forgot about this guy! He's my first crack at clay sculpting (or whatever you want to call it!), he's a wee viking, which I'm probably going to make my shop logo, blog logo and avatar. I was going to put a pair of tiny needles tangled in his beard (but in skull & crossbone style if you know what I mean), but decided they would ruin his beautifully groomed beard, so I left it to it's own devices (the beard I mean).

I'm proud of him! :D

I'm going to have a go at this hat again now, and i'm knitting a sweater in Sirdar Blur, in black, but it's all stocking stitch so it's really just a black lump right now! I want to cast on some lace, namely Kiri, but should get my hat done first!

So much to do, so little time!!

My first cable project!

2007-10-10T07:24:00.000-07:00

Well I'm back! I didn't get much knitting done while I was away, but I did knit my first cable project - Fetchings

They are done in Rowan Pure Wool Aran, in Teal. It was great to knit with, and so far has pilled at all. I couldn't get my tension small enough, so I did them one cable repeat less, and they turned out to be a perfect size, which I'm very happy about. Normally when I wear fingerless gloves my hands are still cold, but these are knit so tightly and with 100% wool, that they are joyously warm, even for someone with perpetually cold hands! So I'm very chuffed with them, and have more pairs planned, plus a pair of Dashing's for my OH, who has requested them.

I got my fish wallhanging done, and it's a lot more successful than the last one!! It's only small, having felted beautifully, and it's so very simple. It's just a square of Wendy Fusion, with fish shapes cut out and three pretty buttons. It's goign in my bathroom, and the fish will be on the opposite wall!

And finally my latest stitch markers. A set of Monstarz that I converted..

Pretty sparkly cherries.....

And pretty sparkly fairies.

I have a few projects on the go now. I have a jumper from Knitting in sirdar blur, a cabled hat in Wendy Aran with Wool, my socks, and Kiri in Rowan Kidsilk Night (4th attempt - not sure why but it keeps going wrong).

I'vejust put up my list of Christmas knits too, which I need to get on with, though I doubt I'll get all of them done to be honest!!

Baltic Sea Stole is finished!

2007-09-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

She's done!! All blocked and I have to say I am very proud of her. I'm really glad I did this pattern, it's lovely, and I'm wearing it as a scarf and it's very warm :)

All the pics are clickable, so if you want to see them bigger you can click away!

Shawn approves..

Pattern: Baltic Sea Stole by Fiber Trends

Yarn: my own hand dyed 2 ply lambswool

Needles: 2.5mm plastic 'Bonette' needles (gorgeous wee ones)

And here are some stitch markers I made today :) more ladybirds, but they are slightly different from the previous set :D

Lace, socks, cables-to-be... etc

2007-09-28T13:12:00.000-07:00

I'll start off with uni and stuff - well I've made my decision, I'm going to transfer to psychology with the Open University. Yey! I'm very excited, I can't wait to get learning more about a subject I love, and to get writing those essays! I know, sounds crazy but I love debating (as long as it doesn't get heated), and a lot of essays do that. Also I love the background research you have to do. The only bad thing will be exams, but with the good you have to accept some bad too.
It means moving home, to be with my family and dogs, it means we can get another puppy, which we've wanted for a while, it means I can join my clubs - knitting, dancing, shooting, photography, and I'm going to apply to be on the committee for the local WI, which has just reformed, all fresh and new! Oh I also want to join the local Guild of Spinning and Weaving (there's a third verb but I can't remember it!!). I will also get a job, I'm not sure how I'll fit it in but I will!

Anyway, I've finished the Baltic Sea Stole, as you can see....

This is her blocking, in a nasty orangey artificial light (being about 9pm). I will take some pretty, arty photo's once she's blocked and will post them! Promise!

My OH is on hiw way up now for the weekend, and is taking me home with him on Monday for a week. So I'll be getting the train back up a week on Monday, which means lots of knitting time.. yey!

The ball of yarn on the left will become the partner to the sock on the right (but neater.. look at the hideous heel).

This lovely Wendy aran with wool will become this cabled hat (though after something else which I'll tell you about in a mo).

I'm dying to get cabling! First though.....

... I'm going to make a pair of Fetchings.

I was going to try and use Fusion in Mace which is lovely, but I can't get the tesion small enough, even on 3mm needles, so will have to get some yarn for them in JL next week (what a shame).

However this Fusion will be finished and felted and wee fishes cut out from it, and it hung in my bathroom. Ie the "fish" wallhanging I'm endevouring to make. If it goes horribly wrong I'll use it for something else. (which it might well do).

Finally here are just one set of my latest stitch markers. I think they're cool, they're actually really helpful, I had them on my stole, with the purl and knit markers in appropriate places between the 7th & 8th st in on each end, marking the borders. When I took them off to put other ones on I keep looking down to see if I was on a knit or purl! I'm taking a trip to the bead shop where they have the cute ones tomorrow, so may have more cuteness soon hopefully!

So... WIPs are:

-Fetchings (need yarn)

- Endpaper mitts (again, need yarn)

- Fish wall hanging

- Grassy socks (or moss or lichen or whatever the heck they are)

- oooooh I nearly forgot, I'm about to cast on for Kiri, if I add the pic of my Kidsilk Night it'll mess up my page, so I'll put it in the next post with the blocked stole!

Cables!

2007-09-23T16:33:00.000-07:00

Before I start wobbling on about cables and stuff I want to thank Linda for rehoming my cute Monkeys! :) I hope she'll be really happy with them!

Ok here's my cables-

You can't really tell on the pic, but I've got pretty loose holes down the left side. They are smaller further up, as I got more practise. I think cables may grow into my new obsession, along with lace, stitch markers, knitting, knitting forums.. ok ok you ge the idea. But I totally love them, I think they look really cool and I particularly like them when they look like Celtic knotwork. I love the Tangled Yoke Cardigan (think that's the name) in Fall 07 of Interweave Knits, I'd love to do it one day. Also now when Soo mentions cables AND lace in her Lyra, it doesn't sound quite as terrifying. Well not as mcuh as "900 stitches on the needles"!

Anyway, told you I'd ramble didn't I.

Below's my latest creation. They are genuine freshwater pearls!! Aren't they beautiful! I want to make zillions of things with them! I'm definitely as addicted to making stitch markers as I am to knitting - and that's a very serious addiction! Anyway, I got these freshwater pearls, in a peachy colour, and they are sitting with silvery gun metal seed beads and black seed beads, which I think look really good with them.

There they are enjoying the luxuries of my sheepskin rug.

I'm knitting my tenth Innocent Hat just now, it won't take long once I get going.

There's Jack looking sexy in a skeleton-in-a-suit sort of way, modelling one of the hats done in Lucy Neatby and a fine sparkly silver thread, just to make it look extra-wizardy (yes I know Jack's not a wizard but it was either him or Miss Piggy).

There's a few more. My favourites are the purple one that you can't tell is purple (helpful eh), and the one third from left which is Rowan Tapestry in Leadmine with a sparkly silver thread alongside - it looks cool! Not that you can tell.. *sigh*

I'm on the 8th repeat now of the Baltic Sea Stole, am getting through it. I've also finished one of the green Moss socks! Wahey! Now I just need to do the 2nd one...... *2nd sock syndrome*

I will post arty pics of the sock when I finish it's partner.

I'm off home for a week next week, so going to take much knitting with me as I'll have nowt else to do. I'm hoping to start Kiri (but finish BSS first) and do the second sock.

Anyway, I'm glad that the new layout is more successful than the last - it's much easier to distinguish between each bit I think, and easier to read.

Ciao for now!

It's good being a bum!

2007-09-21T05:56:00.000-07:00

I've made my decision on what I'm going to do. I'm going to transfer to 2nd year psychology with the OU in Febuary. I've told my Mum, she's clearly not happy about it but tough. (She is a psychologist as well). I've not told my uni yet, I need to get the transfer forms and stuff and sort it out. Then I'm going to get on with selling my drawing board and Architecture books if I can part with them, and getting psychology books. I already have loads, so shouldn't need many more. Then I'm going to get reading up on my psychology, which I absolutely love! I always wanted to do psychology - I should never have let Mum talk me into Architecture, but that's one of those life experiences isn't it. At least I now know what I don't want to do!

Anyway, I'll start off with a nice view for you, from the Isle of Man. You may need to click it to get it bigger.

The other day I went round a few charity shops and picked up a few woollen jumpers, for a few quid, brought them home, and put them in the wash at 90 degrees. They came out fantastically felted, and I have enough to make quite a few things! How's that for recycling!

First I made Rainycloud and Rainydrops from http://mochimochiland.com/

That is the cutest website ever! I'm going to add her blog to my blog list, her patterns are brilliant.

Mine's a bit darker, plus is different because he's felted not knitted. But he's hanging in the hall so you see him as you walk in the front door :) He does have eyes, you just can't see them that well in this piccy.

And the next thign I made, which I've just finished is this evening bag. It's my friend's 21st party tonight, we're getting a bus to Edinburgh, so I made myself a bag! It's totally off the top of my head, and I'm quite pleased with it.

Here's a closeup of the flower, which is grey, it's sewn on using a shiny blue thread, you may just be able to see it. The button's a handmade peruvian one :)

And yesterday I had my first attempt at Cables! Yey! I'm following the Beginners Cable KAL, which you can see here: http://www.knittingforums.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=19915 if you're interested. It's brilliant, it's a really good way of learning a new technique. I though cables would be very complicated, but now I've got the concept of them, as with a lot of things in life, they are really quite simple.

The only thing is that down the left side of the cables, both on the left and right twist, I'm getting big holes as I transfer from knit to purl. This seems enhanced by the fact that I'm cabling, because I'm pulling it tight and there's still a hole. Apparently with practise that will occur less, I hope so!

In stitch-markerly news, the ladybirds flew away to a new home almost sstraight away! So I might get some more, but would like to try and find some leaf beads to go with them, because I don't want to sell the same sets, I want them all to be unique. I'm surprised the monkeys

haven't sold to be honest because they are easily as cute as the ladybirds, or so I think! I've got some lovely freshwater pearls coming which I'm going to make into stitch markers as well, I am just so addicted to beads, and making stitch markers is such a cool way to use them!

Ciao for now!

Productive Day!

2007-09-17T15:56:00.000-07:00

Well here's a bit of background info for you - I'm currently bumming about, and have lots of time on my hands. Well pretty much. I should have graduated by now, I'm in my fourth uni year, but as it is, I'm resitting 2nd year! I resta 1st yeardue to poor health, and now I'm resitting 2nd year due to pure failure! I feel really let down by my course - it's really really not what it's advertised to be. The tutors are so self absorbed in their own businesses, as they are all practising architects. They tell you to do something then fail you for it - that's the main problem. Anyway I'm not going to rant for ages about it, but basically I'm highly disillusioned with it and am looking for a course to transfer to. Meanwhile I'm resitting one measly module this semester, and despite paying £650 tuition fees, I'm not allowed to attend for lecture, tutorials etc. Soooooo I'm in my lovely wee flat, spending my time worrying about money and what I'm going to do next!!
And this brings us to today, and why at 8:30am my neighbours all went to uni and I spent the day in a bead shop. I posted off my first stitch marker set today, I wrapped it in bubble wrap, gift wrapped it and put a pretty sticker on. I am totally paranoid there'll be something wrong with them but I've checked and triple checked and they are fine! I totally love beads and putting them together, so even if I don't sell any it's a really enjoyable hobby - the only thing is that I don't have room for them all now!

So here's what I've made today, seeing as there's no knitting photo's to take! I'm going to do some dying tomorrow (and send off for prospectuses).

These are faux (doesn't that sound better than fake!!) pearls with shiny bright beads-

These are really pretty wee butterflies..

I love these, they are like candy sweets!

These are possibly my favourites, they are ladybirds!! How cute are they?!

I love these as well, blue with black and white spots..

And these are really funky I think..

Here's where it's at! - http://search.ebay.co.uk/_W0QQsassZhandmade_with_care

I'm off to knit some Baltic Sea Stole before bed.. ciao for now!

The Venice post!

2007-09-16T04:08:00.000-07:00

Finally!! It's been a while, but I now have broadband in my flat, so expect more regular updates, and stuff to be for sale more frequently. I've decided, after much chopping and changing, that for now at least, I'll have to stick with ebay rather than etsy. I've got loads of stitch markers on there now, and am hoping to get 2 ply lambswool on there soon as well. I'm handmade_with_care on ebay if anyone's interested. I'm trying to keep my stitch markers pretty but affordable, because I know that often you need more than just one set and I have to say I've seenglass ones being sold for very expensive prices!
Anyway enough plugging my stuff, back to blogging.

first of all I'll start off by telling you that after this post I also have an Isle of Man post to do! I'll do it someother time though.

I found a new LYS in Venice, and greatly regret not going in. I had very little money and couldn't see any prices so my OH decided it was a bad idea. Oh well there's always next year!

This is what they have hanging on the wall outside the shop:

Appears to be mostly "fashion" yarns on the dress, but inside it was all "proper" (you know what I mean) yarn.

Doesn't it look blissful.

Here's the view from the Rialto Bridge, on the left you can see where all the fish and fruit/veg markets are. Mostly squid and octopus, which I have no intention of ever trying.

This is looking down the Grand Canal again, from where we were sat, which was right nexxt to the bridge - almost under it.
Just in front is tha taxi rank and bus stop.

We had a few wet nights but no one cares over there, you just carry on anyway because it's warm enough to. This is the Rialto Bridge, which I'm realising features heavily in this year's photos - sorry about that!

Now let me just tell you that it's very difficult to take night shots on a small digital camera, with No Tripod! (That gets capitals because it's very important).

So before you ask if I was drunk, no I wasn't, but I'd have probably got a better pic if I was.

Piazza San Marco:

It's the only proper square in Venice, the rest are all oficially courtyards etc, emphasising the importance of st Marks. On the top left you can see the clock tower, and on the right the Palace Ducale, the palace of the Doge, who was a religious figure. You can probably just make out the Basilica ahead on the left.

Well you can see it below anyway. It came out really orange because of being a night shot so I decided black and white was less sick inducing.

It's really hard to get these places without people filling the frame, or without it being just another shot of the same old thing. Last year I took a lot of unusual photo's on my SLR, but this year I resigned myself to just enjoying it and taking less photography. Well actually I couldn't afford much film but shhhh!

Below is a Basilica on Murano. Which as regular visitors to Venice we were disappointed in. Not because we're spoilt.. well we are.. but it was because every single shop was full of the glass they make. Now don't get me wrong, it's lovely, but we did, stupidly, think there would be more unusual shops like in Venice itself. Nope! It's all glass! It's very nice apart from that though!

Well that's all the photos worth putting on here. There's lots of myself and OH but you don't really want to see them. I've not had my films developed yet, I think I only took two (!!), last year I took about 8, and got some really unusual ones but this year didn't bother as much. If there's any decent ones on the films I'll post them here though.

Ok back to knitting. I've not much to post, I'm STILL on the moss socks, I'm just not inspired by them sadly, but I am nearly finished the first one!

I'm also doing the Baltic Sea Stole. I've been doing it just over a week, and am on the 6th (out of 13) repeat. I am really, truly enjoying it. With the FC I get a little impatient towatrds the end when the rows get huge, (as much as I love it), but with this, it's been great every repeat so far!

It is the first stole I've done, and the first time there's a pattern on the reverse, or wrong side row. I prefer it I've decided, because it keeps it different all the time, and yet each row is quite quick, being only 111 stitches. At the mo, while I have quite a lot of time, I'm doing about one repeat a day, though now I have broadband that's slowed down again!!

That's one repeat-

And this is at the end of the 5th repeat-

It's growing quite quickly, with each repeat being about 4 inches and 32 rows. I love it!

Ooooh, a while ago I posted a boring pic of some tiny seeds in a tray. Well this is some of they! Shallots no less, grown organically by myself! And very tasty indeed! (I know, I'm biased here)

I gave loads to OH and they're dead, so I'm glad I kept these four. I've got sweet peppers too which should be ready soon - if they aren't they'll probably die because it's getting cold for them now.

And OHHHH - I have babies!!!!!! Baby fish that is..... we have a huge tank in the lounge at home, with lots of Corydoras catfish, which are very sociable, and very lovely, in a fishy sort of way.

Anyway I couldn't believe my eyes a couple of weeks ago - I noticed loads of tiny corydoras swimming round! How exciting! Anyway, there seem to be four bronze corydoras, and three peppered corydoras. They are very cute, and the peppered ones are so tiny you can hardly see them! they are about the size of half your smallest wee finger nail! The adults are about two inches long.

Soooooo here is a piccy, if you look at the front on the right, there's a wee brown smudge, about half an inch in from the right as I look at it now. You may have to click to enlarge the pic. Anyway that's a baby bronze corydoras - and that's the biggest one!! The white fish is an adult albino corydoras, and the one at the back is a panda corydoras (I think they're called pandas).

I know this is probably boring to you if yo're reading this, but I think it's terribly exciting! *is sad and geeky*

Ok ok, back to knitting now. Below is the andi messenger bag, all lined! Wooo! It's the first lining I've ever done, and I'm very happy with it. It was hard work, but well worth it as the bag's now in full working order, and I'm very proud of it!

Ok that's all now. No, it really is, I promise! I'll do Isle of Man pics soon, and when I do I'll try and have more knitting pics, I'm doing some dying today and more stitch markers.. yey! So, I need a showed because I smell, and I want to do another repeat of the BSS... so byeee for now!

Just a quickie!

2007-09-08T10:08:00.000-07:00

I'm getting my internet, phone and tv set up in my flat on Friday 14th, so once I do, I absolutely promise to post more often! Seriously! Don't just nod and think "yeah yeah"!

Well I'll really really miss knitting on a Thursday night down here, I can't go in Dundee because it's on at the same time as belly dancing - stiff competition but I can't miss dancing, I'm hoping the belly bit will reduce and the dancing bit will increase, though currently the belly dances more than the owner.

Anyway, I've been to Venice and the Isle of Man since last posting, and have finished the pouch for OH's nintendo DS. I've tried to make it tough, knowing that once it's in his hands it's only a matter of a small amount of time before he bashfully approaches me asking for a new one, making a wild claim that the previous one wasn't good enough, when I know that in fact it's got lost in the depths of the black hole under his bed. I even tried a protective charm on it to repel it from under the bed, but nothing escapes it so we'll see how it goes.

I've started my Baltic Sea Stole, and am on repeat number three out of thirteen. It's a great pattern, I'm really enjoying it, though I'm sure I'll regret saying that in a few repeat's time when I'm losing the will to knit over it. I will post a pic of it as soon as I can. I'm uploading pics as we speak.

I'm still knitting my moss socks (or lichen socks - I've still not decided which sounds worse). They are taking forever because I keep getting distracted by other things.

I've lined my Andi messenger bag - oh baby! It's tough and strong and ready for action!

I must go get on - my to do list is huuuuge. It's one of those where you write it out, then add things that you've already done, just so you can cross them off, so it looks like you're getting through it. Before OH comes tonight I still need to take up two pairs of pants, clear my stash off the living room floor (hehe), have dinner, wind more yarn into balls (while I have available chair backs you see), wash up, wash my hair, ..... oh the list goes on!

So I'll leave you with a couple of photos of Venice, just because I'd feel wrong to post all text and no photos. You'd wonder where the real Vikki had gone and who'd replaced her obsessive photography with all text.

3 Bags & 2 Shawls!

2007-08-19T05:39:00.000-07:00

Once again I must apologise for the lack of posting here, and warn you of the inevitably huge number of photos for your perusal!

Before I get onto my knitting I want to take this oppurtunity to boast of my target practice here. At Lowther (the game fair there), I always go in the rifle shooting competition every year. I have a shotgun but not a rifle so I've had no practice ;) and below are my results which I'm rather proud of!
Sadly I didn't win, two blokes got every one dead on the centre (well done to them too), but I was chuffed to bits for being entered anyway!

The other thing at Lowther I want to show you is Lorenzo the Flying Horseman. He's been there a few times and I've seen him and met him a few times, and he gets better every year.

If you look closely you'll see he has no reins on the horses, just a couple of dressage whips. He is immensely talented. Until this year he had reins and would gallop about but this year was less dramatic, but more skillful.

And if you look below you'll see fresh air between his feet and the horses' backs - he jumped over the top bar while they jumped over the bottom one and as they landed he landed on them! Wow!

Ok, now down to the knitting.

First a pair of fingerless mitts from the Arctic Lace book, which I'd highly recommend. They are knit with Rowanspun 4 ply in a tan colour, with wee bobbles of colour in it. I have worn them and they are successful! Yey!

Next is the big one - the shoalwater. I actually gave up after two and a half repeats, because it was sucking my will to knit. But nevertheless it's still huge, and I'm very very happy with it. I totally love the colour, and have 5 more balls of the Kaalund left! It's beautifully soft and fine :)

This is it blocked, looking a little less like a dishcloth -

The obligatory closeup:

Last week I was in Dundee for my resits, and so knitted a couple of things, this is my Alpaca Forest Canopy ready for Venice tomorrow. It's really big, and very warm, and quite heavy. It'll be perfect for when I pretend to be posh in the evenings and need to keep warm ;)

(Must apologise for the dazed look, it was shortly after a hospital visit which left me zombie-like).

Here it is on the floor. As you can see, it doesn't have the spikey edging. That's because I ran out of yarn on the chart B bit, and did only 6 rows of it, not 8. But never mind! It makes it unique!

Now for the bags. This is Rowan's Pop Bag, from the Felted collection book. The pattern was really really unclear, so it was not very successful. Plus I don't actually like orange! But it's a big bag (felted now), and carries like a basket, so is perfect for carrying about knitting I guess.

This is my next bag, which was infinitely more successful. It's the Andi Messenger bag, highly recommended, from the same book by Rowan. It's knitted in Wendy Fusion, colour Mace. I did a short strap because I didn't want it accross my body.

I love the buttons, they are heavy copper coloured ones, that look medievel. (spelling doesn't look right there)

It's not felted that well because mum made me use the 60 degree wash, rather than the 90 degree one. So when I go back up to my flat I might put it in at 90 degrees in my machine and see what happens. It'll definitely have to be lined though. I'm very happy with it, it's very neat and a big improvement in my finishing off.

Now this is an interesting bag. Years ago I bought a bright, woolly jumper from the market in Paris, but it was so insanely itchy I've never worn it. Anyway I suddenly thought, I bet this will felt!

So I stuck it in the machine, and mum's face when I pulled it out child-sized, was hilarious (wish I'd taken a pic). She didn't realise it's supposed to be like that!!

Anyway, Once felted, I could cut it up and make things! So the first item is this 'clutch' bag. I can't make a strap because it'd be too itchy on my shoulder, so it's just for carrying by hand. But I'm really pleased with it! It's neat, and a good size, and I had these buttons to hand which go perfectly with it! Yey!

It was difficult to sew up being so thick though. I'd highly recommend recycling woolly garments by felting them, it's a lot of fun and instant gratification!

Finally, a couple of photo's from the garden.

So, I'm off to Venice at 4am tomorrow, and I'm just taking a pair of socks to knit. I started them ages ago but got distracted by other things. I doubt I'll ge tmuch time for knitting to be honest.

My resits went disastrously, I totally failed, despite all the work I did (will put a pic of it on my next post). I won't get into year 3, so am going to enroll again for year 2, but am going to apply for something else. I haven't decided what yet though! I might do illustration, or civil or structural engineering, or I might move home and do psychology at Lancaster, because I always regretted not doing that. I'll just have to see what happens, but designing building just isn't for me. I love analysing and drawing them, but not designing them!

I cut my own hair today - how scary is that! I also dyed my roots the wrong colour but fortunately you can't really tell!! I layered my hair anyway, I've never had it styled but as it's waist length it's easy to do myself. I'll see how that goes - might not like it at all!

Ciao for now!

YoYo Jacket finally done!! (and more!)

2007-07-28T11:33:00.000-07:00

*Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh*

That was a sigh of relief!

The Yoyo jacket is finally finished, it's such a nice feeling! I have to be honest and say I'm not overjoyed with it! Perhaps it's because I've got sick of the sight of it! I'm going to put it away for a while then get it out again. At Stitch n Bitch they all tried it on (you know who you are! :P ), and it looked great on other people!! I actually prefer the back to the front.
I wouldn't recommend yoyo to knit with, it kind of squeaks.. it's weird. I started it at New Year, and it was only my 4th project, and first garment, so I can't really complain at having made mistakes.
I don't have any action shots unfortunately, but you can see it hung up!

The front panels are supposed to match, but I don't care that much that they don't to be honest!

Ok next finished project is my first felted bag, from my own design. When I say design, I mean I had a picture in my head and made up the pattern as I went along. Again, it's not perfect and the pattern could do with a couple of changes, but I love the colours etc. It's made from Noro Kureyon, and Wendy Fusion, neither of which felt easily, and I had to do them on a 90 degree wash!

Oops, the pics are back to front! Here's the closeup 'after' photo.

The 'after' picture!-

And before.. isn't it different!!

Here's a pretty picture, of our summer, all condensed into a few hours of sunshine the other day.

I've just sold this on etsy (ok I have to advertise myself here - I'm handmade_with_care on ebay, and VikingKnits on etsy! Advertising over now!)

I named it "feel the purple"! I am very proud to have sold my first hand dyed yarn :D

Here's some yarn that Continental Cat very kindly sent me, along with some beautiful handmade chocolate! This is the Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece which is lovely, and I'd like to knit a hoodie in it!

She sent me some Texel handspun too, which I knitted a choker with, it's very arty, and hippyish :)

I knit a bracelet out of Rowan Tapestry, which has come out well (or so I think!), and I wear it loads!

I've also made some woolly jewelery, felting strands of Gedifra Gigante, and Rowan Biggy Print, then putting pendants on.

Here's a cushion I made out of oddments of blue yarn, including Wendy Moiselle, Paton's Spirit, etc. It's very cosy! (Mum's claimed it!)

And here's a rather unsuccessful wall hanging I made. The Rowan Spray didn't felt at all, sadly, so it's not really worked, but at least I know for next time!

And finally... the obligatory doggy photos. First, Inca. She's boss, and oversees everything I do, from my knitting, to having a bath. She even helps me knit, messing with my needles to ensure no stitches are dropped.

She curls up really small on my bed most days...

This is her ferociously guarding the house, if any intruders come they get a wag and a lick.

This is Bonnie, she's 12, and is Inca's boss, she's a total character, is very very cheeky as well. (sorry not a great pic).

This is Benson, my fella's 6 month old Boxer. He's incredibly spoilt and cute!

Sooooo there you go!

My current WIPs are (STILL) the shoalwater, the mystery stole from PinkLemonTwist, a pair of Arctic Lace fingerless mitts, and a pair of green socks (handdyed by me!).

I'm off to list my stitch markers on ebay and etsy :D

Warning: Photo heavy post!

2007-07-05T16:14:00.000-07:00

Sorry not updated for ages :( due to awful connection! I don't have much time to write, but have loads of pics for inspiration etc ;)

First of all though, here's a pic of The Boss, asleep on my bed...

Look what I got! Rowanspun 4 ply! Yummy!

Woolfest on Saturday was awesome, I was hoping to bring back a baby one of these:

Or one of these perhaps...

There was lots of felted stuff, which was highly cool, I particulary loved this one -

Here are the things I got - first the Arctic Lace book. It's really interesting, and I can't wait to knit some of the patterns.

Check these! A pound a pair, I got two red pairs, and this yellow pair, sizes 12, and 11 (not sure what mm that translates to). I totally love them! Aren't they wacky!

Here we are, needles and a cone of Lambswool 2 ply from Uppingham yarns. I got a pale colour so I can dye over it ;)

Cheap pure wool, in zany colours, maybe for a felted bag or something, I don't really know.

Beeeeeeautiful Colinette Point 5. I'm not a girly girl, but this was irresistable. Definitely a felted bag I think (suggestions welcome though).

Debbie Bliss Alpaca & silk.... ahhhh *drool* another Forest Canopy perhaps?

Purple home dyed for the Mystery Stole KAL. It's essentially purple, but has red and blue bits in it. It's a little variagated, but if it doesn't look good once knitted, I'll over dye it black I guess. I do rather like this colour though!

I'm knitting my first ever felted bag. I'm making it up as I go along, but here's the sketch of what I hope it'll vaguely look like. I'm sticking it in the machine tomorrow, I'm really excited to see how it turns out!

WIPs - Shoalwater (2nd repeat now), Yoyo jacket (when will it ever end), Felted bag (assuming it works out), and Bamboo socks...

Ciao for now!

Tagged - no pics today :(

2007-06-23T02:33:00.000-07:00

Just a quickie - I was tagged to do stuff on Wiki about my birthday. Well I'm useless and wiki didn't come up with much, so here we go:
My birthday is the 30th November, born in 1985.
The only thing I can think of (but it's big), is St Andrew's Day!
St Andrew, as I'm sure most of you will know, is the patron saint of Scotland.
If I'd been a boy, Mum would have called me Andrew after the saint (how cheesey), but instead I was a girl so she named me Victoria, after Queen Vic (how even more cheesey).
I'm actually Emma Victoria, because she couldn't decide, and wanted to name me after my great Grandma, Emma, so she called me Emma Vic, but I'm known as Vic. Thanks a lot Mum!! It's caused great confusion all my life!!

Ok back to knitting - OTN - yoyo jacket border (ugh), both of the bamboo socks for OH (no second sock syndrome for me!), oddbod bits to make cushion covers (or blanket - not sure yet), and Shoalwater. That's quite a lot of WIPs :s I'm going to go get on.....

The Happy Recipient & More

2007-06-22T07:04:00.000-07:00

Well all my projects are still in progress, so there's not much to report. I finished the boring black socks, but there's little point putting up a pic of boring black socks!

I finished my wall hanging "Water", it's perhaps not as 'striking' as I'd hoped for, but I'm happy with it. BUT I can't put it up till I create a wooden frame for it! So no pics yet!

Here's Mum, very, very chuffed with her Forest Canopy :) She's shown it everyone she's met, and takes it everywhere with her. I don't know if she uses it, but I'm just happy she's taking it with her!

Doesn't it suit her!

Here's the 'varied' scarf I did. I'm stashbusting my 'fashion yarns', and couldn't think of anything more original (ha!) than a scarf.
This is in stripes of Wendy Moiselle, Patons Spirit, and Patons Moonglow. They are a lovely combination actually, even though I do say so myself!!

Shame it's the middle of summer, and I don't actually need a scarf.

A couple of weeks ago my OH was working in the Isle of Man, so I got the ferry over and met him there and had a free, four day holiday. On the ferry I got loads of shoalwater done, but also fell ill.
I got chicken pox. GRR! Of course, I was really ill over there, and then as soon as I got home I was fine (just spotty).

Here's a field of cotton :)

And a beautiful flower, which embarassingly, I don't know what it is. (Feel free to enlighten me!)

That's all for this week! WIPs are - Bamboo socks for OH, Shoalwater, Yoyo jacket (which I'm doing the final border for - home run!), and a patchwork leftovers blanket. I'll add pics when I've got something to show for my efforts!

OOH I forgot - I went to my first ever knitting group last night - the Preston Stitch n Bitch. It was brilliant, the girls were lovely and friendly and I felt I fitted right in :)

It's also Woolfest a week today. YEY! I need to find some money for it though. I've got a huge amount of coppers saved so will see how much I have there!

I better go and get on with my uni work anyway (ugh).

Ciao for now, and I need to do the thing I got tagged for - will do it this evening (honestly!).

Forest Canopy, Opal Socks, and dyeing.

2007-06-11T04:24:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's the Forest Canopy version Two point O. It's done in Rowan Tapestry, and I'm very, very happy with it! The Tapestry feels like it's going to fall apart as you knit it, but to block it I soaked it in water with a very gently wool wash, and it seems to have made the fibres less loose somehow.
It's for Mum's birthday :D

Closeup draped on Mum's Aisa (sp?).

Even closerup!

I had a dyeing blitz for two days last week while Mum was away. Mostly because it's the yarn I stole off her that I was dyeing and clearly I don't want her to recognise it before it goes in the pan!

It's all 2 ply yumminess, the first one is kind of Teal (it was meant to be more bluey but never mind!). There's 1000 yards over three skeins, and I'm going to use it for Queen of the Waves (when I eventually knit her).

Before and after. You can't even tell I took 1000 yds off that cone, it's so big. It's a tweedy pale blue and I wanted a more rich colour you see.

Next is another 1000 yards, this yarn is a bit more fluffy and I suspect has a bit of manmade fibre in, because the colour was seeping out for ages, despite fixing it. I kept washing til the water ran clear, and this is how it turned out. It's sort of purple and plum. I love it!
Oh I forgot to add - it's going to become Hanami.

Before and after!

And finally, bright red, for the Baltic Sea Stole. Not exactly your traditional lace colour, but I thought I'd do something unusual, plus it'll match my bright red skirt! This is 1000 yards as well. There's a slight variation in colour, but it should be ok I think.

Finally, my Opal socks. I did them on 2.75mm DPNS - oops!

Inca approves...

I'm actually in the Isle of Man right now. I did loads on my shoalwater coming over on the Ferry. My OH's working here, so I get a free stay! It's hot and sunny, but sadly the air conditioning on the ferry made me really ill last night, and so I've been stuck in the hotel all day today. I slept til lunch time, and am up now, but my head still really hurts, but I'm going to have to go out and get some lunch, because I'm ravenous! My OH should be back around 3pm so we'll go sightseeing and exploring (he's also bringing me paracetamol from the pharmacy!).

I still have the "Do not disturb" sign on the door, I bet the cleaner's going to pounce in the room as soon as I go out! (I'm quite embarassed about it but never mind!)

I'm currently knitting my varied scarf, boring black socks - originally for Dad but they're too short so I'll have to buy him a Father's day present, and my shoalwater. Yey!

The hotel has free wireless broadband - it's great cos I'm on dial up at home!

Anyway, ciao for now!

Some serious stash, and not so serious retro patterns!

2007-06-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

I have always known my Mum has a stash. But it's only recently interested me. In fact it interested me so much that when she was away last week, I spent a few days in the wardrobe in which she keeps her stash.

It was like a big woolly Narnia. But better. Well until a kilo heavy cone of laceweight bonked me on the noggin.

So of course, being on the stashalong, I was feeling like a child in a very wonderful, special, sweet shop. And of course when you're in a wonderful sweet shop you inevitably come away with something.

Well anyway, here's what I didn't come away with, I fished these out and wet myself. (Not literally of course).

Ick

Fortunately Mum's never knit either of those, or any of the accompanying, offending patterns within the books. (The worst is the front cover, above).

Here's what I fought through to get to the wardrobe of woolly doom (it's the open door on the left):

A wee glimpse:

Slightly bigger glimpse:

And woooooooah I've been sucked in to the wardrobe of woolly ecstasy.

Ok the colours range mostly from brown to .. well.. brown, but there's the odd white and pale blue, and who cares cause these things can be dyed don't you know! (Damn right!)

Below are two of the four rogues that jumped out and made their way into my stash. The other two are orangey brown, and slightly less pale blue.

It's all laceweight, 2 ply, and mostly lambswool, some has some acrylic in though.

This thing fell and bonked me on the noggin! It weighs over a kilo! Owww! Not only that but after a bonking on the noggin it fell to my toes - onto them I mean. Double oww! Obviously that means I was destined to have it though - these things happen for a reason.

£4.68 for all that! Wowww!

Anyway today I had lots of fun dying while mum and my step dad are away, (don't want them getting in the way).

I also finished the opal socks, and FC v2.0, which is blocked and ready for Mum's birthday. I will post the results tomorrow! Promise!

I never know what to name my posts!

2007-06-01T02:34:00.000-07:00

Maybe I should name them with random words.. or should they describe what's in them? Maybe if I updated more often, I'd have less to put in each post, then I could name it by what's in the post...

First of all, here's some yummy goodness from my secret santa, MazzaM, from the Angel Yarns forum. It was lots of fun doing the swap and stalking my secret pal!

Look at this lush sock yarn :D

Here's everything I got! Fantastic stuff!

This is the results of my first dyeing attempt. I am very proud of this, as on the first attempt it went day-glo green, you'd need sunglasses to look at it. So here's the second attempt on the same yarn (it's sock yarn). I've called it Lichen, though next time I try for the same colour it'll probably come out pink or something.

Ooooh look where I went at the weekend! We had time away in York, so I spent my spending money on souvenirs of a squishy type. I was on a day off from the stashalong you see!

Fantastic shop. Tiny - you can hardly move with more that about four people in there but their selection and variety of yarns is bloody fantastic!! They have everything I love! All the KidSilk range - spray, night and haze. In all colours. I think all the Noro yarns were there, Twilley's Freedom Spirit, Artesano Alpaca, loads of Rowan yarns - Tapestry, Summer Tweed, etc. It was just wonderful! Oh and Regia sock yarns too!

Anyway enough gabbling, here's my goodies :D

Here's sock yarn for me :D

More for me *looks sheepish*

Regia Bamboo for my OH. (This will be my next sock OTN). It's lush as well!

We went to eht National Railway Museum, and look what my OH bought for me from there (a bit random actually, I mean why they have Shawn the Sheep bags I've no idea).

Isn't he cute!! If you squish his nose he goes "baaaaa baaaaa", so I've been embarassing my OH by making him baa in inappropriate places (think posh restaurant) - it's lots of fun.

I'm on a dyeing thing. I totally love it, except I only have green, blue and yellow food colouring, so I can't get purples or reds, because Somerfield dont' sell red (well ours doesn't).

I've just found my Mum's stash (she's away), and it's HUGE! She has a whole wardrobe FULL of huge, huge cones of yarn. Most of it's laceweight (no idea why - she's never knitted lace), or two ply.

So you can probably see where this is going - I've had a good nosey, have nicked a huge cone of pale blue for Hanami (not that I'm doing it yet but I can prepare!). I've nicked a cone of bright blue too. Most of it's white, or browns and greys, but being mostly 90% wool, I'm going to nick more for dyeing for socks and lace :D Of course I have to hope she doesn't notice, but as this is all about 20-30 years old, from her machine knitting days, I'm sure she won't be able to tell ;)

So next time I'll have photos of my drowning under my stash, my mum's stash, and hundreds of empty bottles of food colouring and vinegar ;) *giggles excitedly*