Monkeys , monkeys , everywhere

My Monkey Sock Swap package arrived , I was amazed at the generosity and thoughtfulness of my secret pal Lynn , The socks are knitted from Jitterbug merino wool, it is the softest that I have felt and I shall be getting some, the colourway is Blue Parrot and really so much nicer than in the photo,can you see the cute pad ?

The barrel of monkeys is fun and the tape measure is now at home in my knitting bag , the options cables are most welcome , they are 40" and 60" and so I can now knit moebius and don't have to keep sending away for needles everytime I need a different size .

I have a monkey tea towel and pot holder, far too nice to use , the knit picks wool is so soft and the most amazing blue , I feel so very lucky , lots of lovely items that are unobtainable here , thank you so much Lynn , everything is very much appreciated

Monkey Sock Swap Round 2

My vital monkey statistics :


How long have you been knitting ?
Since 1952

Do you consider yourself a beginning sock knitter, an intermediate , or have you been doing this so long that you could probably knit a pair in your sleep ?
Yes , I could knit in my sleep if my needles were close enough

The measurements:
Shoe size : UK 5
Foot circumference 8.5 inches
Foot length 8.75 inches


Yarn preference
What colours do you love ?:
red,blue, brown.

Do you prefer solids or variegated?
I love both ,

Favourite Colour
Brown/cream at the moment

Wool , cotton, Acrylic?
Wool , wool mixture.

What colour would you never wear ?
Purple, Green , anything fluorescent .

Knitting gadgets
Plastic or metal ? Bamboo or wood ?

bamboo

Circs or straights ?
both

DPNs or Magic Loop
both

Are there any knitting accessories you don't have in your collection but would like ?

Knitpicks options sizing guage , knitpicks options discs that you can put on the needle with the size printed on it ( does that make sense ? ) or knitpicks sock needles size 1 .Basically anything that we don't have here in UK.

Would you be willing to have an international Monkey Pal or do you prefer one in the US?
Yes I would love a pal in US .



Hope that is everything answered, and looking forward to Round 2.

Does anybody want to give a shawl a new home ?

This is the cable down raglan from Interweave knits , Spring 07. I love knitting top down as it satisfies my inherent laziness when it come to sewing up , this has two tiny little holes under the arms to sew and even I can cope with that . The wool is cashmere fingering used double from Colourmart . I originally bought some of this for the Monkey Sock Swap ( round 2 just signing up ) , I knitted the socks for Rebecca and loved the colour that I bought more for the sweater , I know that I am not buying more yarn this year , so I bought this out of my Mothers Day cash sent from my son, so I can justify this purchase .... surely ? I knitted this on my new Knitpicks options, oh how I love them , so smooth that the stitches just fly .

This is the swallowtail shawl I knitted for the International Scarf Exchange, knitted in fingering cashmere, it hasn't turned out as large as I hoped and so I am knitting another shawl instead . If any body would like this shawl , just let me know and I will post it off to you , pale blue just isn't my colour and will just get bundled away in a drawer if I keep it .

We are all enjoying such wonderful weather here , I had to smile yesterday , I was standing at the checkout in the supermarket yesterday and overheard the following ,

Lady " What glorious weather"

Man " Aaaargh , but we'll pay for it in the long run, you mark my words ",

I wondered what was ' in the long run ' and how much was it going to cost

The arrival of Knit Picks and Dee's Goodies.

My package from Dee (Yarn4kalei) arrived she really is THE BEST, I am so thrilled with it , she sent me Coffee and Scrumptious Orange and Spice tea, 2 pairs of Fiddlesticks Knitting Needles (Love them ) a clover circular needle , and 2 hanks of the most beautiful Malabrigo wool.It is so soft and a really gorgeous vibrant red, I am leaving it on my desk at the moment, I give it the occasional stroke and I am waiting for it to tell me what it wants to be when it grows up . And of course, the Knit Picks Options arrived, what can I say , they are so smooth to knit with , the cables are wonderfully pliant , why , oh why can't we get things like this in England ? The photo was taken of my outdoor knitting corner , I love to get tucked up there , with a good audio book and a cup of coffee.

Whilst reading through Rebecca's blog , I saw that she had taken a picture of a Norwegian cardigan . This reminded me that I had started a Sedestal sweater about 4 years ago , and if I remembered correctly , it just needed the neck finishing off , I can't remember why I didn't finish it off now , but I decided to try and find it (easier said than done ). After searching through the loft I finally unearthed it , it looked a bit sorry for itself, but after a few judicious pulls here and there , it resembled a jumper again. I cheated with this , and chickened out of the steeking , I just couldn't bear the thought of cutting through the knitting with SCISSORS, so when I got to the arms , I just worked backwards and forwards , then picked up the stitches around the arms and knitted the sleeves from the top down to the cuff . As we live near the coast I couldn't resist adding an anchor or two instead of following the pattern religiously .

Whilst I was knitting, my other half was busy tidying up the ponds, and generally waking everything up after the winter .

Can anybody tell me how to position the photos properly ? they just clump themselves together , and have a mind of their own .

Knitters Treat Exchange Questionnaire.

Knitters Treat Exchange Questionnaire

1. What's your favourite type of yarn?
Anything that is natural and soft , but not thick wool .

2. What's your least favourite type of yarn?
Anything scratchy , brightly coloured , acrylic ( I don't like the feel of it ) and anything funky .

3. What's the first thing you do when you visit a new yarn shop?
Stand for a few minutes and take it all in , that is , the sights and smells ,before being drawn to new labels.

4. What other crafts do you do / would like to do?
I do quite a lot of needlepoint, I have tried all sorts , but find myself preferring to knit and work with wool.

5. What magazines do you currently subscribe to?
Interweave Knits.

6. Put this type of magazine in order of preference:
Knitting / Crochet / Other Craft / Food / Home / Fashion / Celebrity Gossip / Garden
Knitting / Crochet / Food / Home /Other Craft / Garden / Fashion / Celebrity Gossip

7. What items do you like to knit / crochet?
Shawls, socks and baby clothes for my new grand daughter.

8. Are you allergic to anything?
Unfortunately Cats hair , I love cats , but if I touch them I get a nasty rash !!!!

9. What do you like to* smell of?
(*This is not a typo. The question is: What do you like to smell of)
I love clean fresh smells, years ago , Bronnley made a range of herb soaps and the rosemary , also the camomile were really beautiful.

10. What's your favourite way to relax?
Curl up with a good book , in front of a log fire, alternately knitting , knitting and more knitting.

11. You're stood in front of a Victorian style sweetshop, an Italian cafe, an old fashioned bakery and a dainty tea room. Where do you go first?
The Italian cafe , presumably is licensed , and so a glass of red wine and a plate of pasta would be just the job after a hard days yarn shopping .

12. What do you come out with?
A feeling of well being hopefully .

13. Where do you go next?
The old fashioned bakery , chocolate eclairs , gorgeous

14. Any other words of wisdom for your pal?
Anything is possible now . The impossible takes a little bit longer .

My Hidcote shawl is finally finished

At last I have finished this, it has been lying around like a pile of cooked spaghetti , waiting to be blocked. I knitted it from fingering weight cashmere which I dyed a light terracotta colour. The cashmere is from Colourmart and so soft .

The pattern is from Mimknits , I like her patterns and have knitted several shawls from her Mountain Peaks pattern . I am trying to finish some UFO's off before I start more , very difficult , I have no will power at all and just know that something else will be cast on before the end of the week .

I have failed to post photos before and just couldn't figure it out , and so have had to plead complete ignorance and get my ' other half ' to sort it for me .

The Swallowtail Shawl is now finished for my International Scarf Swap Pal, it just needs blocking and then I can send it off with a few goodies. I will post photos tomorrow when it is blocked .