The Imperfect knitter

2008-06-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

This is the Diamond Fantasy Shawl that should have been in the last post , but the photo got lost somehow, it is a really easy knit once you get ito the pattern, I think it will look beautiful in Thraven . Frieda sent me a skein of Mountain Colours Bearfoot in the colourway Winter Sky for the Monkey Sock Swap 3, it was always far too beautiful to be knitted into socks and hidden away , and this is now half way to being a grown up Diamond Fantasy , hopefully W will take a photo of it when it is finished, although at the moment, with the money pit coming together and him spending every spare moment in the workshop , I have to promise the earth to get him behind a camera ....... maybe if I get a belly dancing costume ? sorry , the thought is making me laugh too much to carry on typing .

Frieda / Ronnie SWap

2008-06-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

Look what the postman brought last week , a wonderful package from Frieda ( Sheknitsallday ), this is our special swap to make up for all of the times when we didn't get our package from our upstream partners . I met Frieda through Monkey Sock Swap 3 and the e-mails have been going backwards and forwards ever since.
I am totally in love with the shawl, and it has beads knitted in on the edge , and the other things in the package couldn't have been better , The Yarn Harlot's latest book, signed for me ! The flat feet yarn is so brilliant , knitted straight off the stockinette, and no winding . Freida put a note on the knitpick needles saying that a girl could never have enough , strangely enough I agree LOL .
The trinket tray is really cure, oh I forgot , there are 3 sock patterns for the flat feet yarn , the blue wooden needle holder is so tactile , and the yarn , oh the yarn , it is blue moon shade Thraven , I have found just the pattern for it

I found this pattern the other day , it is the Diamond Fantasy Shawl , by Sivia Harding, this brown shawl was knitted from 1 x 100gms skein of merino/alpaca blend by Pear Tree Australia , I got it in a swap , it is beautifully soft and I cannot believe that I got all of that knitting fom one skein. I am going to knit this pattern with the Thraven that Frieda sent , it is just what I want for Winter.

We have been out and about for the past few days getting the last (Hopefully) bits and pieces for the money pit ,oh , and the paint . W thought that it should be british racing green , but , excuse me, it is MY car isn't it ? The red paint looks glorious ...........

Hanne Falkenberg Ballerina Back Home

2008-05-20T00:43:00.000-07:00

Not sure what is I was looking at here, just pleased to have this little beauty back home. My daughter 'borrowed' this several weeks ago , and it has been like getting blood out of a stone to get it back . Although I love it to pieces, the shetland wool is so scratchy , and I am now knitting another , but using Rowan 4ply merino which is behaving itself beautifully and should be infinitely more wearable than the ' brillo ' pad one .

2008-05-16T05:53:00.000-07:00

Ireceived the most wonderful package from Gilraen of Gilraensknits , I really don't kow how she managed to get so much into the parcel . The socks are so beautiful , warm and soft , I just love everything and it really brought joy with it .

Things have been a bit ' up and down ' here for a while, and it has been quite difficult to be cheerful . W has had the last of his ' radio active ' scans , and we are just waiting to find out how much damage has been done . He keeps active, but has to take life ' in the slow lane ' for now and it doesn't suit him at all .

We seem to have been sitting around in hospital waiting rooms for ever, and the only good thing that can be said is that I finished quite a few things off , and several people admired my Harmony needles .

We had a mini summer last week, wonderful weather, but wouldn't you know it , back to rain and wind , oh well , it was great whilst it lasted.

Monkey Sock Swap 4

2008-03-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

I have joined in with Monkey Sock Swap 4, and looking forwards to all of the fun :

Questionnaire :

Shoe size , UK5
Foot length , 8.75 inches
foot circumference , 8.5 inches.

My favourite colours are reds , blues and greens.

What colours clash with my wardrobe ? anything neon .

I like solids and variegated .

I don't have a favourite sock yarn , but I prefer wool to acrylics.

I would like any brand of wool .

The Cookie A patterns I would like are :- Thelonious, German Stocking or Millicent.

I am allergic to pet hair.

The knitting will not be subject to pet hair or smoke .

I live in England

I would ship to any other country .

2007-12-14T05:59:00.000-08:00

what do you think of my baby ? I had to take her outside for her to be photographed as it was too dark inside ( please ignore that the garden fairy has been too much of a slut to pack the garden furniture away ) I re- birthed her from a berenguer doll , she is weighted to 8.5 lbs . The dress took an age to knit but hopefully it was worth it . She is being raffled in aid of the Ambucopter. I donated one last year and he raised enough to keep the ambucopter flying for an hour , that is two lives that hopefully were saved. I am hoping this little poppet can raise enough for at least two hours in the air. She is at the Ambucopter charity shop in Spalding.

There , that is my advertisement over for the day .

Things here at the madhouse were going quite well for a while , and then we have had just about everything that the fates could throw at us . At least the house is habitable again , most of the soot and thick grey dust have been cleaned away and we are almost back to normal ,( whatever normal is in this house .)

The money pit ( my birthday car , joke ) is still devouring cash at an alarming rate , it would have been so much cheaper to just go out an buy a new one , I shouldn't be a bit surprised if W decided that the garage needs central heating installed.

On the knitting front I have been finishing off ufo's ( boring ) , but , I am waiting for a delivery of special wool , it is black with a fleck in it , and it is going to be a full length coat when it grows up . It should be quite challenging, not the knitting , but I am going to line it , and I am a bit like a cow with a gun when it comes to sewing things .It is bitterly cold here now, and I am just going to cast on for a pair of felted slippers .

You are never too old

2007-11-05T09:15:00.000-08:00

Well , I really thought that I had just about done it all ! Well , I did until about 15 minutes ago . W has almost stripped the car down now, he just needed to take out the windscreen . That is where I came in . Apparently I am too clumsy to ' catch ' it as it 'popped ' out , also, W said, I was smaller than him . Where was this leading ? I can now divulge that the easiest way to get a windscreen out is for 'somebody' to sit in the passenger seat , back 'braced' , feet up at the top of the screen , pressing whilst 'walking' across the screen . I couldn't quite reach ( not having very long legs ) , but was told that I couldn't stop as the screen was half out . I ended up sprawled across the seats with my feet over the steering wheel in a very inelegant position. It has been over 30 years since my last child was born , but that brought it all back ................ I am now going to frog a hemlock shawl to calm myself down .

Gallery of Shame

2007-11-03T08:58:00.000-07:00

A short while ago ,Knitting Daily were asking knitters how many ufo's they had . Tutley Mutley had under 10 , she posted photos of them all , and very nice they all were . I added up mine, 31, say it quickly Ronnie and it doesn't sound very many . I thought about asking W to photograph all of them , I have also thought about swimming the Channel , climbing the north face of the Eiger and dropping 2 sizes in clothes , none if them is going to happen , so I will just bite the bullet and list them :

Green Hemlock shawl.
Red Mountain Peaks Shawl.
Green Mountain Peaks Shawl.
Black Shetland Cobweb shoulder shawl
Wedding ring shawl
2 x E Z baby jackets
E Z surprise jacket
Peer Gynt jacket
Top down raglan sweater
Pink swallow tail shawl
brown swallow tail shawl
2 x Gnomes#3 x mice
8 x socks
hat
mittens
felted clogs
felted slippers
Muir shawl
aran baby coat
peapod cardigan
knitted knitting bag
chanel type jacket
pomatus mitts
2 x scarf
another sock
mohair jacket
Christmas Roses cardigan
aran jacket
rabbit
monkey
blue hemlock shawl

there are now 44 , I opened a few cupboards and they just sort of fell out . I really think that it is time to start FINISHING a few things , I am off to find a needle and some scissors .........

Yarn Sick

2007-11-03T07:42:00.000-07:00

I am absolutely sick to my knitter's heart. We have been away for a while , collecting bits and pieces that W needed . This has entailed going from one end of the country to the other , and I had some vague idea that somewhere in the north east , was a whole warehouse filled with Italian yarn . Getting home at last , I looked up the exact location of such knitterly delights ..............we had passed by 4 times , it is 1/2 a mile from the dual carriageway ......... I still cannot quite believe my rotten luck . I have pointed out to W that he should have been able to smell it .... I have a cold and no sense of smell whatsoever , he pointed out that he doesn't have the same affinity to yarn , I then said that if it was covered in engine oil he would have tracked it down ! end of conversation .

Monkey Sock Swap 3

2007-10-28T02:31:00.001-07:00

My package got here on Wednesday , and what a brilliant package it is . My pal is Frieda, we have been e-mailing backwards and forwards , and I now have a lovely new friend . Frieda made the knitting bag , isn't it gorgeous , there is already a project for my grand daughter in it ( a knitted rabbit ) . The beanie monkey is lovely , and he is sitting in my egg basket in the kitchen now . The yarn is too lovely for words, socks that rock Silkie ..mmmmm.......The blue yarn is Bearfoot hand painted merino .
Can you see the cutest tape measure ?

There is a pack of playing cards , a book mark with an Oscar Wilde quotation , How did she know I adore Wilde's wit ?The Chocolates didn't make it for the photocall , but they were yummy .

The socks are to die for , Cherry Tree Hill merino in cherry red, they fit perfectly , I have them on now , they are my best Sunday Socks .. W says that they are so professional ( he has NEVER said that about anything I knit ) . The book is actually signed by the Yarn Harlot , and the photo shows her holding one of the socks in progress , everything was beautifully gift wrapped ,I am completely bowled over by Frieda's kindness , generosity and TALENT .

I am sorry that it has been a few days since I got the package , and I know that I should have posted straight away , but W was away and some of you know my inability to hold a camera still . Then on Thursday and Friday we were away getting my ' belated ' birthday present , but I have an idea that it is actually what W wanted , no , I KNOW that it is what W wanted , what woman wants a 35 year old sports car that needs renovation ? I can see that W is going to spend most of his time out in the workshop for the forseable future , oh well , I will just have to amuse myself with my knitting .......... what a hard call that will be LOL

2007-10-14T02:41:00.000-07:00

Where does the time go to ? It has been almost a month since I posted last , W caught my ' bug' and was quite ill with it . Nurses uniform on , and general pampering , somebody once said that when a man is ill , they didn't know whether to send for a doctor or a drama critic . We are back to normal now , what ever normal is in our house .

I have finally finished my dressing gown , I am really thrilled with how it turned out . We live on the edge of the Wolds, and when the wind blows, it gets a bit cold round the unmentionables . This dg is so warm and cozy , I used my birthday money to buy fingering cashmere from Richard at Colourmart , I used 2 strands throughout as the pattern uses Rowan kid classic and knits up to an aran weight .

The pattern is from the book Beads,buttons and lace by Jennie Atkinson. It took a month to knit , but I have been struggling with my monkey swap socks as well , these are a nightmare to knit , my pal is allergic to wool , and the cotton I am using sort of ' scrunches' in my fingers, giving my shudders , a bit like pulling finger nails down a blackboard .

The Irish shawl is finally finished , I had just a few rows to complete and had put it away for a rainy day, the rainy day came when I couldn't get another UFO in the cupboard . I knitted this with fingering cashmere , again from Richard at Colourmart , and , oh dear , I don't like it . I don't know whether it is the green , or the length or what , I am thinking of putting it on Etsy , for just the cost of the cashmere , does any body have any experience of etsy ?

Finally my Peer Gynt jacket , this is from the 60 th anniversary booklet , it is called Heidal , and I hope that I can finish it before next summer. The only problem with the pattern is the STEEKING , I have never plucked up the courage to actually CUT through the knitting . So I will have to see what happens . I can't bottle out and change it into a sweater , as the front centre is just worked any old how , the needle points are at the top of the front centre so you can see that it is unwearable as it is , apparently , the brave knitter cuts straight up the middle , picks up stiches down each front and knits a band , and hey ho , it sounds a breeze doesn't it ? LOL.

The photos have gone all over the place as usual , they take on a life of their own, but at least they are all on the same page today .........

2007-09-10T05:21:00.000-07:00

I got the cutest birthday card from my secret monkey sock swap pal , and the greatest stitch markers , amongst them are the three wise monkeys , although 'hear no evil' is already being used . This was such a lovely surprise , it will be great when I find out who she is . My monkey knitting is non existant at the moment , as I have had to order special yarn for her , and the post is so slow, goodness only knows when I will start knitting them .

The Hogwarts sock swap is now going well, I had a complete knitters block , starting several pairs , and discarding them , I can't show the one that I finally decided on until after the swap , hope she likes them . The photo is of a few of the different ones that I started before deciding , for various reasons , that they just weren't going to work.

I see that ISE5 is up and running , I don't think that I will sign up for it though, I still have 3 swaps running, and I am as unorganised as ever .

I haven't really knitted for about a fortnight , and so I have lots of catching up , all of those wonderful patterns and so little time ...............

Monkey Sock Swap THREE questionnaire

2007-08-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

I have signed up for Monkey Sock Swap three , I have met some great new friends through it , and have fun knitting a pattern I could do in my sleep now , I haven't been able to master downloading the questionnaire , so I am having to type it out in full , well , it might be a little shorter that the originial , but all the answers are there ....

Basics,

Yes, I am sure that I could knit in my sleep , I often wake in the middle of the night and feel like casting on .

Measurements:

UK size 5

Foot Circumference . 8.5 inches.

Foot length. 8.75 inches.

I prefer natural fibres , not very keen on acrylic .

What colours do I like ?

Reds, blues .

I like solid and variegated yarns.

I wouldn't ever wear anything too bright or fluorescent.

I like Socks That Rock yarn , and KnitPicks variegated.

I have knitted Pomatus socks and of course , Monkey socks.

I would love to knit Flicker.

I would love to have an International pal

My knitting isn't exposed to smoke ( only a log fire).

Hogwarts Sock Swap2

2007-07-22T06:16:00.000-07:00

Hogwarts Sock Swap 2 Questionairre.

1. What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into ?

Hufflepuff.

2. Shoe Size ?

38 European, 5 UK.

3. Footlength ?

8. 75 inches.

4. Foot circumference ?

8.5 inches.

5. List your favourite double pointed needle brands , including size and length.

knitpicks size 2 or 3 6 inches.

I haven't tried any of the other brands mentioned.

6. I would live to try any of the other brands mentioned , size 2 or 3 - 6 inches.

7. If you are a RAVENCLAW , do you prefer the colours in the film or the book ? Do you have a
strong preference?

8. Allergies ? Do you have any ? Will your knitting be exposed to smoke or animals.

I am allergic to some pet hair , my knitting will not be exposed to smoke or animals.

9. Are you an international participant ( outside US)? Are you willing to have an international
swap pal ?

I am in the UK , and I would love an international pal .

I have completely got this messed up , I thought that I had to wait until I got my new blog up and running before I posted this questionairre , I am such a dork .........................

Scout's Baby Bootee Knitting Pattern

2007-06-29T07:29:00.000-07:00

Scout's baby bootee . This knitting pattern was evolved for AJ's (downwithknittygritty) daughter. AJ was my favourite colour swap pal , and I knitted these in cashmere/silk . I used the base of this pattern for the Tiggly Wiggly bootees.

abbreviations:

psso : pass slip stitch over .

Work bootees as for Tiggly Wiggly bootees until

row 14 ..............55 sts on needle.

row 15. K

row 16. K1 , *K1b , p1 * to last 2 sts. K1b , K1.

repeat rows 15 and 16 6 times more.

row 29. K 32 , sl 1 , K 1 , psso , turn.

row 30. Sl 1 , K1b, p 1 , K 1b , p1, K1b, p1, K1b, p1 , K1b, p 2 tog , turn,

row 31. Sl 1 , K9, sl1 , K1 , psso, turn

repeat last 2 rows until 35 stitches remain.

Sl 1, K across all stitches on left hand needle.

K 1 row.

K1, * yo , K2 tog * to end.

K 1 row

Repeat rows 15 and 16 7 times in all.

Knit 4 rows.

Cast off.

turn inside out and sew back and foot seams.

Tiggly Wiggly's Baby Bootee Knitting Pattern

2007-06-29T05:29:00.000-07:00

When my grand daughter was born I wanted to knit some really cute bootees, the following pattern is what finally evolved . We call baby Lily , Tiggly Wiggly , as she squirms and giggles and can never keep still for a moment.

Materials :
approx 50 gm 4 ply wool.
1 pr size 2 (US ) Needles
1 yard baby ribbon .

Abbreviations :
k ... knit
p.... purl
m1. make stitch by picking up loop between stitches and knitting into the back of it.
sl 1. slip stitch
k 2 tog.. knit 2 stitches together
yo .. yarn over needle
k1 b... Insert needle from front to back at base of stitch of row below,knit this stitch,at the same
dropping stitch above off needle.
** repeat stitches between asterixes.

Cast on 31 sts.
1 . k
2. k
3. k1 , m1, k14 , m1, k1, m1, k14, m1, k1
4. k
5. k2, m1, k14 ,m1, k3, m1, k14, m1, k2
6. k
7. k3, m1, k14, m1, k5, m1, k14, m1, k3
8. k
9. k4, m1, k14, m1, k7, m1, k14 , m1, k4
10. k
11. k5,m1,k14 , m1, k9, m1, k14, m1, k5
12. k
13. k6, m1, k14, m1, k11, m1, k14, m1, k6. ( 55 stitches on needle )
14. k
15. k1 , p1 , * k1, p1b * to last stitch k1.
16. k1, * k1b, p1 * to end.
repeat rows 15 and 16 6 times more.
29. k23, k 2 tog , k2 tog , k1, k 2 tog, k2 tog , k 23
30. k
31. k 21, k2 tog, k2 tog , k1 , k 2 tog, k 2 tog, k 21
32. k
33. k 19 , k 2 tog, k 2 tog, k1 , k 2 tog, k 2 tog, k 19
34 . k
35. k1 , p1 , to last stitch , k1.
36. p1, k1, to last stitch p1.
37. k1 , * yo , k2 tog * to end
38 .p1, k1, to last stitch , k1.
39. k1, p1, to last stitch , k1.
40. k .... mark this row with a pin marker or piece of wool.
41. k
42. k
43. k
44. k1 , * yo , k 2 tog * to end of row
45. p
46 .k
47.k

cast off .

Fold top over to right side ( to create a picot edge ) sew cast off loops to marked row ( row 40 ). turn inside out and sew up back seam and foot seam .

2007-06-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

I had such a surprise today , the postman brought a package from Dotty ( yarn Floozies ) , it contained a whole clutch ? (does anyone know the collective noun for sachets of kool aid ?) of kool aid , I am so thrilled , and tomorrow I will be transforming some white merino wool into some thing brilliant , and poosiblly end up with bright red fingers , ah well, all for the sake of art . The card with the sock in it is the wee tiny sock that Dotty sent to me ( she was my swap pal ) , I didn't know how to post photos when it arrived and so I am posting it now , better late than never Dotty .
I had no idea that she was sending this package and it has brightened my day , we have had almost non stop rain for so many days now , the river which is about a quarter of a mile away had burst it's banks and there is standing water everywhere along the little village lanes .
We have been splashing along today and must have the cleanest wheels on the car ever.
The package that I sent to my monkey 2 sock pal arrived and happily the socks fit her . I am always a bit worried , I suppose I should check my tension , but I never have the patience , I am getting a Hanne Falkenberg kit and I suppose it really will make sense to check my tension for that .

2007-06-12T00:44:00.000-07:00

I overheard this conversation between two ladies in their fifties I should think :
1st lady ' He asked me to go for a meal with him "
2cnd Lady " No "
1st Lady " Yes , and then he said he hoped I wouldn't mind if he brought his mother ..........

I was by then out of earshot , if , by any chance you were one of the ladies in Church Lane in Boston , I would love to know if it all turned out well .

Here at home we are still busy trying to fill in the hole that was once the pond ,as it was 25 feet , by 14 feet , by 6.5 feet deep it is taking some time , hard work , blistered hands and occassionally a REALLY bad word !! If any one has any ideas what to do with it once it is filled in I would be very grateful , at the moment W is favouring putting gravel over the surface and putting tubs of greenery around . We still have the top pond and the heron has now transferred it'a allegiance there , so I am still having to rush out or knock on the window to frighten it away .

2007-05-28T05:18:00.000-07:00

I must thank everyone who has sent their good wishes re the pond , Unfortunately , the leak has proved to be much more serious than we first thought , it would have taken about 5 more weeks to repair , and it just wouldn't have been fair to the fish to keep them in temporary ponds until then . Sadly the fish went to a really good home yesterday , and we have deicided to fill the pond in . I shall really miss the fish , some we have had for over 12 years and were almost 24 inches long . I had named them all ( I know , stupid of me ) , and they all had characters of their own . They knew when it was feeding time, and one of them in particular would let us hand feed him . They really will be missed.

I don't know what has happened to the photographs , they have landed up all over the place. The beautiful quilted hanging at the top right hand is from the fabulous Dotty ( Yarn Floozies ) , she sent me the package in return for a shawl that I had knitted , what a great package .......... more cables for my knitpicks options plus needle tips , knitpicks sock needles size 1 , how did she know I have wanted some for ages ? and gorgeous blue wool , what do you think about the wall hanging ? Dotty quilted this herself for me , and it is far more beautiful in the flesh as it were....

The shawl for my pal in the International Scarf Exchange is complete and ready to send along with other goodes that I think she will like . I knitted this in cashmere from Richard at Colourmart , I dyed it a pretty terracotta colour ........hope she likes it .

I received my package from my Knitters Treats Exchange , my secret pal turned out to be Carissa of Confessions of a Mad Knitter , The wool is 50 % merino , 50 % silk and is laceweight , it is the softest ever, and I think that I will make my own version of the forest path stole , it will be light enough to knit in the summer ( if it ever comes ) .

It really is wonderful to log on to AOL and know that it is going to stay on, we have had quite a bit of re-wiring done in an effort to try to find out what was wrong , and then , suddenly one day it just decided to come back on , I am just happy it is back on and I can catch up with all of my friends out there .

2007-05-13T07:18:00.000-07:00

We are having such trouble getting onto AOL, a connection , once got , lasts about five minutes , not long enough to down load photos . I have been busy with monkey socks , finishing off antique garments ( one was over 5 years old ) .

I heard the words that I never want to hear again last Sunday .. ' The pond has to be emptied ' .. 50.000 gallons of water later, the fish in temporary housing , the filter dug out , and the garden looking like an incompetent builders yard. Ladders, plastic sheeting , gravel , bricks , wheel barrows , hose pipes, you name it , I have tripped over it . The gin consumption in the evening has risen quite a bit as well, I am now elected as general factotum and labourer . It is pouring with rain now , far too wet to be outside , thanks be !
Will post photos of the horror as soon as AOL decides to behave .

Monkeys , monkeys , everywhere

2007-04-27T07:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-26T09:43:00.000-07:00

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 ?

2007-04-20T03:54:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-04-09T06:48:00.000-07:00

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.

2007-04-01T06:34:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-01T05:59:00.000-07:00

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 .

2007-03-25T05:14:00.000-07:00

It is such a beautiful day here, warm enough to sit outside, and that is just what I have been doing. I have finished the monkey socks , all except the grafting , so goodness only knows when that will be done. I have almost finished the extra surprise for my monkey swap pal , and then I can send everything off over the pond . I am just missing one more monkey item , I wonder whether to go to Monkey World and abduct a chimpanzee , maybe not a good idea ?.

The swallow tail shawl that I am knitting for the International Scarf Exchange is almost finished , I am just awaiting the arrival of my knit picks options which have arrived at Dee's house and then I can transfer the shawl onto them for the last few rows . Knit Picks don't mail to UK and so they were sent to my friend Dee's house and she is then going to mail them over to me , Dee ( Yarn4kalei ) is such a good friend and I bless the day that she was chosen as my secret pal in the favorite color swap 1 .

I have just cast on for the top down aran sweater in Interweave knits Spring 07 , I have knit a few rows and I think that I am going to be very happy with it , I find that top down patterns are easier to adjust to ' strange shapes '

2007-03-20T13:03:00.000-07:00

I now know who my International Scarf Swap partner is, I have finally decided to knit the swallowtail shawl from Interweave Knits Fall 2006 , I knitted this for myself in November , I used a 50% cashmere 50% silk which gave the shawl a lovely heavy drape , I am knitting the scarf swap in pale blue cashmere fingering weight , I hope that she likes it.

My wee tiny sock swap arrived today , it was knitted by Dotty at yarn floozies.blog.spot.com , it is so beautiful , it makes me laugh every time I look at it .

The monkey sock swap is going along great, I have just turned the heel on the second sock, but I am going to lay that aside for a day and start on the shawl , just for a rest from the size 2mm needles that I am using. I have ordered a Knit Picks Options set , I can't wait to try them , once the shawl gets bigger I will transfer it onto them , I have been using Denise circulars but find that the stitches don't move too easily along the cables , I am hoping that the Options will be better.
One day I will find out how to load photos onto the blog . . . . . .

2007-03-19T01:01:00.000-07:00

It is a truth , universally acknowleged that on Mother's Day , said mother should lie on a chaise all day , eating peeled grapes and maybe doing a little gentle knitting. NOT in this house however. Significant other disappears into study , visiting daughter clamps onto lap top after depositing card and flowers en route. What is daughter studying for the next 6 hours , is she discovering a way to end Global Warming, is she writing a thesis on the importance of being nice to mother on her special day ? NO , this educated graduate ( and I should know , it cost us a fortune to get it ) , is trawling E- Bay , she leaves this edificating experience just long enough to down an enormous lunch , before collapsing back onto the sofa , complaining that she has eaten too much , and resuming her illuminating investigations. To be fair , she did offer to help with the washing up , I said not to bother , so she didn't . So that is it for another year , business as usual . . . . . . but I love the girl to pieces.

On the knitting front , I received details of my secret monkey sock swap pal , after a look through her blog I have come up with the perfect ( I think ) yarn , I ordered it on Friday afternoon, and was thrilled to get it on Saturday , so have been able to get one sock done . If I have to knit on straights , I prefer to use 4 only , and this pattern didn't really lend itself to that , so I have adapted it to circs , only the heel and toe needed changing , so that was fine . I have come up with an idea that I think she may like , we will just have to wait and see .

2007-03-16T12:46:00.000-07:00

I joined the monkey sock swap yesterday , all of a sudden I am becoming a 'joiner' . I haven't knitted this pattern and so I am interested to see how it turns out. The pattern is from Knitty and is a top down one. I prefer toe up , I hate ,loathe , just can't do grafting . After all of these years, I have managed to come up with some really sneaky ways round grafting , but still avoid it if possible .

Today we have had the most glorious sunshine, I dragged some garden furniture out, filled it with cushions and knitted in the sunshine for an hour or so, such total decadence in the middle of the day !!!! It is bound to rain, or worse tomorrow ........

Dentists and dyeing

2007-03-15T12:46:00.000-07:00

My husband had to go to the dentists for a filling, not unusual , BUT , he told me that he hadn't had an injection, apparently if Gordon Brown could do it , then my husband could do it in spades !!!! Oh Yeah ????
I have dyed several hanks of cashmere a pretty pink this afternoon, I love cashmere and buy it from Colourmart , it is usually as cheap as merino wool, but so much more luxurious . I have knitted so many shawls , I just need the rocking chairs to go with them .............

2007-03-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

My wee tiny sock is winging it's way across the pond . It really is tiny , just about big enough to fit a size 0 anorexic model. Size is a big issue(laugh) in this house at the moment, my husband lovingly told me that there is now a lot more of me than there used to be !!!!!!!!!! . Not quite sure whether to diet or completely pig out mmmmmmm? .

My Favorite Color Swap 2 Package arrived.

2007-03-12T10:25:00.000-07:00

Genevieve of princessgenevieve.blog is my secret pal . She spoilt me with her carefully thought out choices , and , needless to say I love everything. The Knit Picks Memories sock wool is just so beautiful , exactly the colours that I love. The on-line Linie 3 sock wool is wonderful and I am casting on this evening , a girl can NEVER have enough socks . I also received stich markers , Knit Picks and bamboo sock needles -- lovely. The chocolate is fabulous ,I haven't tried the choccy drinks yet but I am sure they are lovely. Thank you so much Genevieve , I have really enjoyed this swap .

2007-03-10T12:03:00.000-08:00

My Supermarket hates me !!!!! , I live in a small community, we are well provided for in the usual manner , okay, if I want to buy Lark's Tongues in aspic , or Vintage Beluga Caviar , we have to travel 30 miles to the real biggies of Supermarkets but usually , day to day proviisions are easy to come by . I digress, to get back to today, I only needed a handful of things for the weekend and so I drove down , car park , as usual , almost empty. This is the bit that still makes my cheeks burn , I reached up to get something from a top shelf, the chain from my bracelet got caught in the shelf fitment, I was holding a basket with two glass bottles in it ( olive oil and red wine ) , I couldn't reach up to free my bracelet , I couldn't drop the basket in case the bottles broke, I WAS STUCK with my arm trapped in the air ------ I just had to stand there until some Saturday Boy eventually came around the corner, it felt like 2 hours, I suppose it was about minutes, but oh ! my gosh, I felt like a complete wussy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! dare I go back ? Will the Saturday Boy be permanently scarred by what I said after he asked if I was okay ?

The Wee Tiny Sock Swap

2007-03-09T12:52:00.000-08:00

I have just found this swap, the object of it is to introduce people to new sock yarn. The Beauty of this swap is that you can use leftover sock yarn , so you don't need to rush out and buy grammes and grammes of new yarn ( damn !! ) . I am looking forwards to knitting miniature socks ( and using up a bit of the stash ).

2007-03-08T12:12:00.000-08:00

Having decided not to buy any new yarn until I had made a sizeable inroad into my stash , I forgot today ! Yes , completely forgot, but I HAVE AN EXCUSE, surely baby wool doesn't count ? I have a new grand daughter and found the prettiest variegated pink and blue, I had whipped my debit card out before you could say 'stash' , pin number was entered, wool wrapped and I was out on the pavement before I remembered my resolution . I really would like ( no need ) to reduce my stash, some of it I don't even LIKE . I found an excellent way to get new yarn without cheating , I joined the favourite colour swap ! brilliant. I bought yarn for my swap partner (this didn't count as it was for somebody other than me ) and in return I get yarn sent to me ...............yarn that I didn't buy, and just for me , it was all going so well until this afternoon when I came across this variegated pink and blue . . . . . . .

My First Blog.

2007-03-06T13:41:00.000-08:00

I have just joined the International Scarf Exchange , my good friend Dee, of Yarn4kalei dangled this in front of me like a bone and I couldn't resist, and , so , I have started my blog. Oh ! my , I am feeling very daring at the moment, and I am quite sure that this will not work, I know when I press the button everything will disappear from the screen. I feel that I am a bit old to start something new, but then , you never know do you ? and who said that you are never too old for something new ? ( certainly not my husband , but that is another story)