Abso-knitting-lutely!

My First Supported Spindle

2012-01-30T21:39:00.002+01:00

LucyJ on Ravelry recently sold some of her spindles since she mainly used her wheel instead. As soon as I saw her Russian made of beautiful Mexican rosewood, I knew I had to have it. The price was good as it was secondhand and I knew the maker (IST) is great, so I couldn't go wrong there. What I wasn't sure about at all was whether I would be able to use a supported spindle in the first place.

Since I only ever used drop spindles before, I couldn't quite imagine how this would work. I searched for suitable videos to give me an idea and though it looked fairly easy, I wasn't convinced I could make it look as good. This was the most helpful video I found:

It shows very clearly how to get started, which is the most important thing, in my opinion. Nothing is more frustrating (and more difficult) than trying to get the leader going. Once you get the hang of it, it's all right.

Once the spindle arrived, I was reluctant to try it right away, which is unusual and shows just how convinced I was I would fail. That evening I finally gave it a go: I got my plait of Krafty Koala's merino and silk blend that I bought at Fibre Fest last year and simply got going. And it worked! Right from the start! I was and still am amazed how easily I took to spinning with a supported spindle. The photo shows the result of that evening's spinning.

I've not found any nice spindle bowls, oddly enough. There don't seem to be many made in the UK. For now I am using a cermamic bowl that's actually for dips, but I will go to a kitchenware shop soon to find a smaller bowl. It will do. Actually, I quite like the one I am currently using, even though the spindle sometimes slips around in it when I forget about it.

Tools of the Trade

2012-01-22T11:26:00.002+01:00

It was high time I made a few essntial purchases as a spinner, so I ordered a WPI tool, a niddy noddy, and 100g of BFL tops from an Ebay shop. The delivery, though 2nd class, was incredibly fast and the items were with me within two days.

The WPI tool will come in very handy when my handspun skeins are ready to use. So far I have always had to guess what weight they were, but now I can properly check. I haven't tried it yet, but since I finished my humumgous skein recently, this is the perfect opportunity. I had no idea Ashford was from New Zealand, so I was very pleasantly surprised when I got the tool and it said "Made in New Zealand" on it. Anyone who knows what I got my PhD in will understand why I think that's cool.

The niddy noddy is also from Ashford and it came with a piece of sandpaper so I can smooth it down and finish it with oil. I must say I didn't expect that! I would have thought you get the finished product, ready to use. Even though I have not finished it yet, I just had to try it out that same evening and I am very happy with it.

I was wondering where the word niddy noddy came from and found the following:

A niddy-noddy was a tool used by spinners to wind wool or linen yarn into skeins; made of wood and shaped like two letter Ts attached upside down and crosswise, the tool would bob back and forth like a nodding head as the spinner wound yarn. (Source)

Also, though the OED online does not contain this word, Merriam-Webster offers the following:

Definition of NIDDY NODDY
: a hand reel for yarn

Origin of NIDDY NODDY
perh. fr. obs. niddy-noddy to nod to and fro unsteadily, by redupl. & alter. of ¹nod

As an extra, I bought BFL tops that I will try and dye sometime. I imagine that dyeing the tops instead of the finished yarn will result in better colours. Of course I might be completely wrong, but I am looking forward to it.

So Much Spinning

2012-01-19T22:01:00.004+01:00

My first whole skein of handspun yarn:

Spun on my cheap learner's spindle and started ages ago.

Ca. 150g fingering weight
2-ply (Andean ply)

I still need to wash the skein, but it already looks really good and a whole lot better than I expected it would. To make the skein, I used my brand new niddy noddy from Ashford that arrived today. I have yet to use the WPI tool I also got to check the yarn just to make sure.

As this yarn was a gift from Zimtschaf on Ravelry and she wasn't sure what fibre this was, all I know is that there is merino in it among other things. The fibre was really hard to work with and it was impossible to draw out sections to spiin one at a time. Instead, I had to wrap the entire length of the roving around my arm while spinning it and it felt rough to the touch. Surprisingly, it was easy to draw out a little fiber while spinning though.

I used my cheap learner's spindle that consists of nothing but a bit of a dowel rod and a wooden toy wheel, but it did a very good job. Now I can start on a new bag of fibre from Fiber Fest back in August and I am looking forward to trying the only one of my new drop spindles I haven't had a chance to use yet. I better practice on some not-so-dear roving first though: I realised that the spindle is heavier than others I have used and I have trouble working with it because I find it difficult to spin yarn thicker than fingering weight at the moment.

Eric's Jumper

2012-01-16T11:52:00.003+01:00

Eric has been pestering me about wanting a handknitted jumper, so last night I made him one from leftover aran yarn. He likes it, it suits him and goes well with his new trousers too.

Now he is ready to brave the cold temperatures outside.

Hand-dyed: Raspberry Sorbet

2012-01-15T15:40:00.004+01:00

This is the final installment of my recent dyeing phase that resulted in some lovely creations and one rather unfortunate surprise. The final skein of sock yarn was dyed with Dylon's flamingo pink and tulip red. I had to overdye it because the initial result was pretty much entirely pink. Even now, despite having added significantly more red, the skein is still rather pink.

It is the variegation that I like about the yarn and considering that it is Valentine's day soon, this isn't too bad a colour. I threatened my boyfriend with a pair of heart-patterned pink socks for the occasion, which he wasn't very happy about. He won't have to worry, I'll be keeping this yarn for myself.

Sock Yarn: Gemüsebeet

2012-01-13T12:42:00.005+01:00

(Image: Pearandprose)

Dyeing has taken a serious hold of me and it is a pity that I only have one skein left to dye. My latest sock yarn turned into a veritable vegetable patch, or Gemüsebeet in German. The colour reminds me of aubergines or even red cabbage in a field.

This hank was also dyed in the microwave, but I had to do it twice because it ended up with too little colour and too large white spaces between the two shades. I don't like having any white in the yarn when I am dyeing, but it can't always be prevented, particularly when taking care not to mix the colours.

Once wound into a ball, the yarn already looks a whole lot better. I do wonder what it will be like once knitted up, whether the colour will pool, and how much of a pattern will be visible despite the colours. I've been looking up some sock patterns and realised that despite having over 200 to choose from, there are none that entirely appeal to me. I might just have to improvise a design again.

Swift Ballwinding

2012-01-10T22:49:00.004+01:00

For Christmas last year I got a swift I had wanted for quite a while and it was only today that I had a chance to finally try it. With the swift and ballwinder all set up, it took mere minutes to create the perfect cake of yarn. (Here I used my newly dyed Confetti sock yarn.) I am very happy with the swift and am sure it will come in very handy for the many laceweight skeins I still have in my stash!

"Confetti" is utterly beautiful when wound like this and it makes me want to dye some more. I still have two skeins of sock yarn waiting for colour, so it shouldn't be long - particularly now that I have tried using the microwave to set the colours, which is so much faster. Perhaps there will be more news tomorrow.

"Muddy Goldfish", the unfortunate disaster skein, still does not look much better. I could overdye it, of course, but I have already put so much dye into it that I am reluctant to waste any more. It has a very natural shade, which appeals to a lot of people, but I prefer popping colours in my yarn. I wonder what I will make from this in the end?

Finally, I am still extremely happy with the microwaved skein whose colours are just stunning, in my opinion. I've called it "Just Like Me" - no idea why, but that's what came to mind when I tried to find a name. Never mess with the muse.

All wound into a cake it also looks beautiful and I will have to have a good hard think about what I will turn it into eventually. I have over 270 free sock patterns favourited on Ravelry so there is lots to choose from. Where do I even begin?

Ah yes, perhaps I ought to weigh the yarn as well because I have a sneaking suspicion none of these cakes are enough for a full pair of socks. Yikes!

Hand-dyed: Confetti

2012-01-09T22:36:00.001+01:00

That's better.

Experimental Dyeing

2012-01-09T14:24:00.006+01:00

At the end of last year I received several skeins of undyed sock yarn from Ravelry friends and once I got around to buying the dye, I was all set to do some serious yarn dying. I have only tried it once before and the result was very good. This time I wanted to try the sprinkle-dye method. At this stage the result for the yarn with 20% linen looked great:

The dye didn't spread enough, so I added some more, but ultimately it ended up in a disaster, looking more like this:

I could tell that the result would not be good. I had used orange, green and blue at this stage, but the whole thing started to look very murky. After some hours I got tired of it, added the rest of the orange dye and some red to new water and just left it to soak it up all night. Ah well. I call this colourway "Muddy Goldfish".

The other attempt with 75/25 sock yarn was better even though the yarn looked best while still in its bath:

Pretty colours! I used red, orange, pink, blue and purple in this one, which reminds me of confetti. The colours are not as strong as I had hoped, but I think the skein will look good once knitted up. I will post again when the skeins are dry and wound.

At the moment I am hand-dying 100% merino sock yarn in the microwave. I am just hoping the clingfilm won't melt! So far so good. There is just one more of three 2-minute rounds to go before I can rinse and check the results. While packed in clingfilm, the yarn looks really good and I love the colours so far. Fingers crossed!

Happy New Year

2012-01-01T13:24:00.002+01:00

The first thing I did once 2012 began was spin some yarn.

I Would Play That Game

2011-12-28T20:03:00.003+01:00

Book: Abby Franquemont, Respect the Spindle

2011-12-27T20:15:00.005+01:00

With spinning so far I have not bothered to "properly" learn it; instead, I simply gave it a go without even looking up anywhere how it should be done. Luckily, it seems as though I haven't made any grave errors, or at least nobody has ever mentioned any. My approach was entirely intuitive and it seems to have been right so far.

In order to find out more about the theory behind spinning (methods, material etc.), I added Abby Frankquemont's book Respect the Spindle to my wishlist recently. Abby's Youtube videos were recommended to me by a fellow spinner and I used them to check how to ply before my very first attempt. So, I thought that getting her book couldn't be such a bad idea either and, lo and behold, Mark's parents gave it to me for Christmas! I have been engrossed in it ever since and it was so frustrating not to have my spinning with me over Christmas. I am sure next time I read a page I will be spinning soon after.

So far, what I don't like about the book is the very basic chapter about physics. It's not really relevant if you just want to spin, and it is far too basic to be of interest to anyone who has ever suffered through Physics at school, in my opinion. Then again, it may only seem irrelevant to me because all principles at work while spinning are intuitive for spinners anyway. We don't think about how the shape and weight of our tool influences what we do, we just adapt to it in the way we work with it. I am not sure anyone who is unable to spin intuitiveley would be any better at it knowing the physical principles, to be honest - I guess we all know that practice and theory are two very different things.

Other than that the book is very good so far (I am almost at the halfway mark now), if a little repetitive. The latter is excusable: having written a book myself I know how editors like to insist on a little bit of repetition since they don't like to assume everybody understands what you are talking about right away. (Why they think readers would have the attention span of a gnat, I have no idea.) Despite my dislike of catering to the thick, the editor has the last word and that's that. But do not let that detract you from buying the book because it really is good and the photos are wonderful too. I especially liked the start of the book in which Abby writes about growing up in the Andes. I would say the book is probably better suited for beginners and those who, like me, haven't read about spinning before. It is a book about technique and history for the main part and an easy read that is easy on the eye too. I suspect, however, that is is not of any use to advanced spinners.

Being a Busy Bee

2011-12-27T20:05:00.003+01:00

(Image: Duftoase)

On a train to Reading this Christmas Eve I started my first hexipuff for the Beekeeper's Quilt. 10 down, several hundreds to go!

Woodland Hoodlet

2011-12-19T13:47:00.006+01:00

Some time ago, I receoved the Woodland Hoodlet pattern as a gift in the German RAK group and I bought the yarn and needles for it soon after. I used Rowan Big Wool in Hot White, a colourway I normally would not go for. But white is a colour I associate with winter and the bulky quality of this yarn is so cosy that white seemed to be the ideal colour of all the ones I saw in the shop.

I started the hooflet 11 days ago, though of course I did not work on it every single day, so it is a very quick knit. The pattern is easy to read though I did need to get used to now working with a chart. How strange to think that there once was a time when I found charts to be daunting instead! The front cable section is not as complicated as it seems either. The one thing that was new to me was making the tassel, which I love, by the way. It's my favourite thing about the whole hoodlet!

The only thing that bothers me about it is that it does not look great on me. I suspected that might be the case, given that I am a large girl. I would have preferred the hoodlet to be longer, which might improve the whole look. I suppose that blocking it would make a difference, but I have no idea how to block this hoodlet properly, given that it is closed all the way around and I can't pin it out properly that way. I should have blocked it before sewing it up, really (which I thought of, but then did not do so I could finish the whole thing). The instructions do not mention blocking at all.

I made some modifications to the pattern. Firstly, I shortened the back because it would have been too wide otherwise. Secondly, I also shortened the hood although I now think it might have been all right at the original length. I just normally find that hoods are much too big for me. If I knitted the hoodlet again, I might make the cabled front one or two repeats longer. As it is, it looks like it is far too short and the stocking stitch back begins much too soon.

Swedish Fish Socks - Completed

2011-12-07T15:10:00.002+01:00

There they are, my Swedish Fish Socks! I started them in October, believe it or not, and I only finished them now because I was so lazy. I never did any stranded socks before so I was expecting them to be more difficult and tighter than they turned out now. In fact, the socks are looser than most of my past ones.

Of course I made the obligatory mistake of knitting the second sock without consulting the pattern since the first had been so easy. That resulted in my having more stitches in the foot section and therefore two additional stripes on one side. Ah well, no one will see them but me (though it irks me that I know they're there!).

The socks are very pretty to look at and I love both yarns. Luckily, I still have loads left of both to perhaps make another pair of socks. For now, though, I am working on a completely different project: the Woodland Hoodlet. More on that another time.

That's Much Better

2011-12-01T00:09:00.001+01:00

No need to wear that shower cap of a hat from my previous post any longer! Woohoo!

Fountain Hat

2011-11-28T18:19:00.001+01:00

Sometimes I end up making things that I dislike and that don't suit me.

Win!

2011-11-26T17:56:00.002+01:00

Something that has become very popular in the German RAK group is the raffle. Whenever someone has something to give away and they want to give as many of us a chance as possible, they can do a raffle.

The Raveler kabine was giving away some items from the yarn stash and I won her merino lace yarn in purple. It is lovely! Nice and soft and it's a huge cake of yarn! No idea what I will make from it yet, but it will definitely end up as a shawl of some kind, I'm sure.

Trying Ebay

2011-11-26T10:41:00.003+01:00

I do like the times Ebay (UK, that is) allows you to list items for no fee. Last week I tried to sell a set of cake stitchmarkers I made ages ago, but I set the price quite high and wasn't surprised that nobody bought them. This weekend I am giving it another go and have relisted the cake set, the ninja set, a cute sheep set, and a maritime set complete with mermaid, crab, sea shell and starfish. I hope some of them do sell, particularly since the are available for up to less than half price. Tempted, anyone?

Shroom

2011-11-24T23:36:00.004+01:00

A quick knit that will be the perfect Christmas present for a very good friend. I used Rowan Drift (again) in green and I love the subtle colour changes in it. The main image shows the colour best. I want to have a hat just like it now! In fact, I have cast on some Fyberspates Scrumptious Chunky to make a grey version for myself now. Let's see how that turns out.

Pattern: Shroom (Knitty.com)
Needle size: 10mm
Yarn: Rowan Drift
Size: small

Margaret Atwood Knits

2011-11-20T13:02:00.004+01:00

One of my favourite poets (though I seldom like her novels).

Taken from the National Post:

Ms. Atwood's stitched contribution to the upcoming exhibit at a London gallery will be displayed alongside scores of paintings, sculptures and other depictions of vanished bird species - including the dodo, passenger pigeon and Hawaiian crow - by prominent artists, musicians, writers and other celebrities.

Fish and a Wrap

2011-10-23T15:46:00.005+02:00

Quite a bit of knitting has been going on lately even though I don't have that much time for it at the moment. I was given the pattern for the lovely Swedish Fish Socks that I instantly fell in love with. That very same week I bought some undyed sock yarn from Bluefaced.com and finally found a good use for another multicoloured sock yarn I was given from a German RAKer.

I've not knitted with more than one colour before, at least not properly, so I wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. Luckily, the pattern is very easy and you don't need to have it with you while knitting the shaft. Just repeat what you've done before, and if you're unsure, check what you did in a previous repeat without needing to consult the printed pattern. Now I will be moving on to the heel and that's where it might get tricky because heel and sole also use both yarns.

On another note, it's been so freezing cold in the office that I decided I really need to knit more jumpers and wraps. So now I have started a buttoned shoulder wrap whose pattern instructions are annoying, to say the least. You have to guess a lot as to when you are meant to do what, and it drives me crazy. It will look good when/if I ever finish it. Thankfully, using Rowan Big Wool means it won't really take long. However, the bit you see in the image below is what I have to unravel again because I forgot something important about short-row knitting.

Of course it wasn't ever mentioned in the pattern and now I have some huge holes in there. Well, I might start from scratch and CO a smaller size anyway. I don't even want to think about how much yarn I might need for this. I bought all 6 balls of yarn that were in the shop that day and the image shows almost a complete ball already. That's not a lot of wrap for that amount of yarn. I should do it soon - preferably before I catch a cold.

The Big Knit 2011

2011-10-16T17:13:00.002+02:00

This year, I only knit 17 hats for The Big Knit as opposed to the 80+ from last year. Admittedly, I didn't even make them this year because these were hats I started right after last year's The Big Knit. Somehow I didn't feel like making any at a later point, so I could only hand in these 17. At least they are fun ones, most of them with googly eyes like the one above. I look forward to seeing all the little bottles with hats on in the supermarket next month!

Refuge Blanket Squares

2011-10-08T20:56:00.005+02:00

(Image: Simply Knitting)

Alice, a knit club member who works at Future Publishing, brought in a few balls of wool last week for anyone who wanted to help knit blanket squares for Refuge. Quite a few of us joined in an we all managed a few squares that made it to The Knitting and Stitch Show in London this weekend to be sewn up. I didn't take any pictures of my squares because I made up random patterns as I went along and there was hardly anything too interesting there. Had I known that there was actually a collection of patterns for this purpose, I would have had a much easier time of it! Still, they may come in handy some other time.

Mark's mother went to the show and she said she would try to take a picture of the blankets if she sees them. Who knows, I might recognise mine.

My First Jumper

2011-10-08T10:52:00.002+02:00

I started knitting at the end of 2007 and, oddly enough, I taught myself to knit socks from the start. Some would say that is rpobably the most complicated thing to begin with and everything else is a breeze. For some reason, though, I never knitted a jumper and it was only this year that I found a pattern that I thought I could try: Rowan's Tender with Rowan Drift in the shade "Fire".

Of course it was impossible for me to just go ahead and knit according to the instructions. I don't know why I always keep changing stuff! However, in this case it was a good idea. I put the ribbing a little higher (seeing the picture below I would even like to have put it up a little higher than that to begin right under the bust) and lengthened the jumper. I also increased stitches in the lower section to allow for wide hips.

Yesterday I wore it for the first time and it was nice and snuggly warm. It will definitely come in handy in my cold office. Originally, the jumper was meant to fit very loosely, but I knitted size M which made it just the right snug fit. Mind, the chunky yarn has a lot of give in it.

I love the jumper! To me it doesn't even look like something I made myself, which is a good thing. I am very proud of it.

Fun with Numbers

2011-10-02T11:13:00.002+02:00

66666666666666666666
96966669966966696999
96966696696966696966
96966696696696966996
96966696696696966966
96999669966669666999
66666666666666666666
69669696669696999996
69696699669696669666
69966696969696669666
69696696699696669666
69669696669696669666
66666666666666666666

Press ctrl and F, type in 9 and select "highlight".

Arm-knitting a Cowl

2011-09-22T21:39:00.003+02:00

At last night's knit club, Laura demonstrated arm-knitting with yarn from Adriafil called Magia: metodo faidate. It looked like a lot of fun and instead of buying it just for the sake of giving it a go, I thought it would make a nice Christmas present for a friend of mine.

It's really easy and fun to knit with your arms, and it is quick too. Within a few minutes I knit the cowl five times, testing how many CO stitches look best. In the end I opted for 5 stitches and just knit till i had just enough yarn left to weave in the ends.

Voila! The perfect gift.

A Challenge

2011-09-03T13:46:00.003+02:00

I am knitting my first ever jumper and am a third of the way through already. It's knitted using very bulky yarn, so it's a fast knit and shouldn't take me very long. I only started 3 days ago (with needles the lovely Alice lent me).

Watch this space!

Spinning Video

2011-08-26T16:10:00.003+02:00

This is my first Youtube video and of course things went wrong in the process. It was fun though, so enjoy the finished product!

Apparently, Youtube in Germany doesn't allow you to watch videos with some copyrighted music, so here is a slightly longer German version:

Fibre Fest 2011

2011-08-25T12:00:00.006+02:00

When it comes to Fibre Fest, Wool Fest, and Fibre East, I am a complete novice. I never went to any such craft fairs before and didn't know what to expect when Helen, her mother and I headed down to Devon last Saturday to spend a day at Fibre Fest. It was a two-hour drive, which is perfectly fine, especially compared to how long it would have taken me if I had taken the train and bus instead. I was glad that Helen offered to give me a lift.

Having been directed to the car parking area by a number of cadettes with flailing arm, we then made our way to the area where the action was. Near the entrance were stalls selling mainly fleeces and there were a number of llamas and sheep. Knowing my tendency to be spat on by llamas, I kept a bit of a distance just in case.

One sheep in particular impressed visitors and was dubbed Emo Sheep by one of the passing men due to its fringe. It was a very nosey sheep, too, always turning to where the camera was. It must have been a celebrity among sheep.

A bit of shearing went on later in the afternoon and I was surprised to see they actually tied the alpaca (that I first thought was a sheep till a Raveler corrected me) to a stick to keep it still and stretched. That's a kind of shearing I have never seen before and I am not sure I like it either. Apparently, it is a good way to sheer them though and the alpaca didn't seem to mind. In the end, I didn't stay to watch for long, but it was interesting to have witnessed even for a little bit.

Due to the pouring rain during the first half of the day, some of us took shelter inside one of the buildings of Bicton College on whose grounds Fibre Fest took place. Luckily, the rest of the day was beautifully sunny and warm. It was just right for a bit of a rest outside with a pot of mysterious seabuckthorn ice cream. Some people described the flavour as similar to mango - it certainly has the same colour. Never having tried or even heard of it before, this was the flavour I just had to have. I was surprised by its sweetness and loved it!

It is amazing how wonderfully relaxed I felt while I was there. Though they aren't words I commonly use, blissful and serene is how I felt. Just walking around the place, looking at all the yarn, fibre and tools, talking to stall holders and random visitors, all of whom were incredibly lovely and in an equally good mood, was an amazing experience that exceeded my expectations by far.

The beautiful surroundings did the rest. Could it be any different in Devon? This was only my second visit to the area and both times I have loved what I saw. The south west of England is certainly a beautiful part of the country.

One of the three marquees was reserved for an exhibition of an entirely knitted coastal landscape complete with underwater tunnel. It may well have been the most amazing thing I have ever seen. There are more pictures of this exhibition in my album here, including all other photos taken that day.

The exhibition was in aid of the RNLI and I am sure that many visitors who saw this stunning work gave a little of what they had.

In the marquee next to the exhibition, visitors had the chance to try out drum carding with Jill aka Wrigglefingers whose workshop had been cancelled. I was immediately intrugued because I had never even seen a drum carder and had no idea how it worked or what you can do with it apart from obviously carding fibre. Jill taught me to create my own unique batt in the colours of my choice and I had a great time! If I had the space, I assure you I would have bought a drum carder then and there.

In about 20 minutes I made a 33g pure merino batt that I started spinning only a few minutes later. I named my creation Under the Sea. The colour is gorgeous and I love it. No idea what I am going to knit with it yet, especially since 33 g aren't a hell of a lot, really. However, I am spinning it very finely on one of my new spindles so I am trying to get as much out of it as I can.

I bought the spindles from Amanda of Manda Crafts and they are beautiful things from the Netherlands. I had seen them online before and was so glad they were available at Fibre Fest. The stall was very crowded when I got there, with most people going in and grabbing bagfulls of fibre almost at random, it seemed. I must admit the colours were wonderful, so I couldn't resist taking two with me as well. However, the main thing I wanted was a small 10g spindle I had seen Helen use at knit club. By the time I got through to where they were, only one was left and I grabbed it and made sure not to let it go again! I also went for a 30g spindle to replace my learner's spindle though I suspect it is heavier now and I prefer thin yarns. We'll see. So far I have not tried the new larger spindle yet.

And here are my purchases from that Saturday. It was a good thing I took a separate bag with me just for all the things I was going to buy. In the end, my large tote was full to the brim with fibre, yarn, spindles, and finally a proper pair of scissors that actually does the job. As I mentioned, I got two bags of tops from Manda Crafts that day, but that's not all. These are my treasures: the red is Spin a Rainbow (Manda Crafts) micron Falkland tops; orange is also Spin a Rainbow (Manda Crafts) Merino and Mulberry Silk tops; the blue above is a handcarded batt of Corriedale with angelina, silk, sari silk and rayon thread (Laal Bear); the plait is a Merino and silk blend (Krafty Koala).

So my spinning addiction has been fed, but I also bought three skeins just because. Oliver Twists and Artisan Yarns had such beautiful silk that I just couldn't resist. Mind, I did come to Fibre Fest with the intention to buy some silk, at least as a blend with other fibres. I just wish now that I had bought the lovely mango-coloured silk bricks for spinning from Oliver Twists, but I wasn't sure at the time if it would be easy to spin silk and decided against buying it. What I got instead are Peacock in merino and silk, Lacey Lacey in pure silk (both from Artisan Yarns) and a purple pure lace skein from Oliver Twists. Heaven! No idea what I will do with any of it, but I am sure there's something out there.

So my first craft fair of this kind was a complete success and I loveed every minute of it. Everything about it was wonderful and I didn't even mind the rain we had at the beginning. So I shall leave you with the words of a lady I met at Fibre Fest and say, "Goodbye, and may you have your very own craft shed one day!"

Heart-shaped Pom Poms?

2011-08-18T11:50:00.004+02:00

Yesterday at knit club Laura gave away a few of these pom pom makers because they apparently don't do what they are meant to do. Instead of heart-shaped pom poms, she said, you get ordinary ones. Since I still need to make a large pom pom for a hat I knitted almost two years ago, I bagged myself one of them.

So last night I tried making two pom poms, the first of which worked okay (but not great), resulting in a vague heart shape. The trouble is you still need to trim it into the right shape afterwards because you do not get a true heart shape out of it. A little pointless then, I'd say. The second one I made fell apart because I seem not to have tied it properly. Ah well. I guess if you want to make pom poms, a normal round one would be best, really.

I will use my pom pom maker when I need it even though it won't be too often. Though it's probably a good decorating idea for parties, Valentine's day and weddings.

EDIT:

Here is a video showing how to use the pom pom maker. Far too much trimming involved, if you ask me. Also, some things weren't even mentioned in the instructions that came with the tool.

Bachforelle Reloaded

2011-08-18T11:39:00.002+02:00

In the end I had to frog all of the original Bachforelle I had begun because the fish just didn't show up in the Noro yarn at all. It took me quite a while to decide to start all over again so I am not very far yet. Instead of Noro, I am using my favourite Fyberspates Scrumptious lace yarn, this time in teal. It looks lovely and the beads I used in it look like actual air bubbles. I look forward to the finished product even though it is going to take some time.

Thanks to Wendy, who already made a readable chart earlier, I now also have a chart for my own Bachforelle which is twice the normal width. I am rather math illiterate (or just plain lazy, really) and didn't figure out how to make such a chart myself, so I am very grateful to Wendy.

Both of us are knitting the same shawl though she will finish sooner than me simply because hers will be smaller than mine. I shall try my best to keep up!

Whoops!

2011-08-17T15:13:00.002+02:00

(Source: Left-handed toons)

New Stitchmarkers For Sale

2011-08-08T15:17:00.004+02:00

My obsession with tiny little polymer clay things is unabated. I am quickly running out of ideas of what to make. The latest idea were the fried eggs and bacon with toast that turned out much better than I had expected. Oddly enough, the matching coffee mugs I wanted to make didn't turn out well at least even though they should probably have been the easiest thing to do.

My sheep sold out very quickly on Ravelry so I made a few more. Luckily, they are easy to make even though they take a long time. These ones here have flowers and a four-leaf clover on them.

Finally, the macaroons were an experiment that turned out all right. they took a bit of practice, but they helped me get to grips with some thing that will help me make even better-looking cakes in the future.

These cake need sponge layers that actually look like they are fluffy sponge layers. Now I know how to to that, I think a few more slices are in order soon. Other than that I have no idea what else to make that I haven't made before. I have started keeping a list of ideas that I just need to try out sometime.

Anyone interested in parting with some spare cash (via Paypal) for these polymer clay markers or the ones from a previous post can contact me on Ravelry.

Book: Big Girl Knits

2011-08-04T09:37:00.003+02:00

I've had this book on my wishlist for a while and last week I found it just by chance in a shop that was having a sale. Lucky me, I got it for all of £3.99! Now I am very glad I went there on a whim.

Though I haven't yet taken a close look at it, I can tell that it will come in handy if I ever try to knit a jumper at last. There is lots of information about what you need to think about if you are a larger lady and have to adapt patterns to suit your body shape. Of course there are also a number of patterns, many of which I may not want to use, but there is the odd jumper or accessory I may consider.

All in all, I have the impression that it is a helpful book that focuses on information, advice and technical suggestions rather than a pattern book. I find this quite refreshing and look forward to immersing myself in it properly at a later date. I am very glad I bought it, especially for this price.

Second Plyed Yarn

2011-07-31T03:52:00.003+02:00

My second attempt at spinning and plying has yielded better results than the first. This 2-ply yarn is a bit smoother than the blue one I made before. I love the colour. Sadly, it is still too thick for lace, but I am getting there.

Since I have some old inaccurate kitchen scales, I don't actually know how much yarn this is, so planning to make anything with it is difficult. I will probably try a cowl and use the blue yarn to make a wrist distaff (yeah, I had to look that word up too). Just like with spinning, Helen got me interested in making my own distaff. She is a dangerous person to be around!

Fimo Mania

2011-07-30T11:41:00.002+02:00

While I am contemplating starting my Bachforelle shawl all over again because the yarn I am using isn't quite suitable to show off the little fish in it, I have been productive in other ways. Apart from plying and washing my handspun yarns, I spent last evening making some more Fimo stitch markers.

First Plyed Yarn

2011-07-29T14:08:00.002+02:00

Unknowingly, I must have been quite afraid of plying my yarn. After spinning both of my first lots of fibre, I took ages to actually sit down and learn about plying. It took a while to find a suitable tutorial too. In the end, I came across this one which was incredibly helpful:

I learned how to wind an Andean bracelet and what it is good for. I quickly had a two-stranded ball of yarn that I could then easily ply. I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to washing the yarn soon to see how it will set. I am quite proud of it, tiny little hank of hand-spun that it is.

Another Gift

2011-07-29T11:46:00.002+02:00

It is a very rare thing that you meet such a bunch of very generous people: the German RAKers are amazing. It seems to me as though I am hardly posting about anything else lately.

Yesterday I received yet another package from Germany, this time from Ravelry's pombaer, who had warened me that something was coming my way. She sent me some pretty beads, a stitch marker, earring hooks I can use for my jewelry making, German chocolate (yum!), lovely loose green tea with orange that I am drinking right now, and a useful recipe card I will have to try out sometime soon.

I am looking forward to next month when people list their new wishes and I hope to send a few RAKs their way again as well. It's just a lovely feeling to give and receive things out of kindness alone. It makes me go all fuzzy.

Fimo Fun

2011-07-28T09:56:00.005+02:00

I often saw stitch markers made from polymer clay that I loved, but didn't want to buy. Last week I decided to try and make some myself and these are the results. Considering they are my first attempt, they turned out really well and I am very happy with them. I began with a sheep and have made quite a few more. People like them a lot so I will definitely be making more of them.

Mind, this sheep isn't entirely my own design. There is someone on Etsy who sells them though they are slightly different. However, our designs are so similar that you would definitely know I got my idea from her.

I especially like the maritime themed ones above and the mermaid turned out especially well. Some of them are also not my original idea, but for the most part they do look like my own work and not a blatant copy all round.

Since I really love sushi (great, now I have cravings after writing this) I thought I should give that a try too and it was surprisingly more difficult than I expected. Still, it turned out well and I particularly like the hand roll and the salmon nigiri. ... Now I am really hungry. I haven't had breakfast yet.

The rubber ducks were a quick and simple late night endeavor and they are very cute. All I need for all these markers are some rings to attach them to. I could even turn all my markers into earrings if I wanted to.

The muffins were my second ever attempt and they are yummy. The strawberry on top of one turned out well too and it is probably my favourite of the four. They do look entirely edible.

I intend to sell my creations though at the moment it isn't possible yet (need to set up Paypal first). However, I can already tell you now that I won't be opening an online shop since that hardly seems worth it with the fees involved. You'll find the markers on my Ravelry page (in projects) and can contact me there if you are interested. I only sell the ones still available on the project page. I will be making more from time to time though I won't stress myself about making loads in a specified period.

RAK: Surprise Package

2011-07-27T16:45:00.003+02:00

zimtschaf from Ravelery sent me a surprise package. I am actually waiting for two parcels so I didn't expect this one at all. It was a lovely surprise: zimtschaf sent me the rest of her Fimo and accessories so I can make more stitchmarkers (I will post pictures of my surprisingly good markers soon), fibre to spin with in exactly my kind of colours, beads, and a selection of teas. It was all packed inside a sturdy plastic lunch box that will be great for storing my Fimo in. My own box can't cope with the sheer amount of stuff I've got anymore. hte box was lined with some paper napkins and I especially like the ones with the knitting on them. Very apropriate.

Thank you, zimtschaf!

Result

2011-07-26T20:15:00.004+02:00

This is the result of my first ever dying experiment and it doesn't look too shabby, does it? The sparkle comes through very clearly in the flesh (er, wool). I am very happy with it now that I see it as proper skeins. I will be taking them with me to knit club tomorrow to show off.

Dying Lace

2011-07-25T13:36:00.008+02:00

Last week I gave in to the temptation and bought the lovely sparkling lace yarn from Bluefaced that Wool Bath is stocking at the moment. It was the sparkles that did it. Ever since I saw Fyberspates' Royal Wedding Lace I have been keen to find something just as sparkly and this is it:

I was disappointed that it does not come in colours, but this was my chance to try and see if I can dye. That was a slightly scary thought, to be honest, because you don't really want to spend a lot of cash on lovely yarn only to ruin it in the end. Since I know very little about dying, I tried to make it simple and chose Dylon hand dyes in intense purple, powder pink and flamingo pink.

I can't even begin to tell you how long it took me to decide on the powder pink. The other two colours were easy. I followed the instructions on the packets and tried to keep the work area (kitchen counter top) clear and clean. Need I say that I didn't quite manage the keeping it clean bit? Even Cilit Bang has not been able to get rid of the pink ring that is still on the white surface now.

The first thing I did was tie each of the two lace skeins in three places to avoid tangling. Then I soaked them in cold water, but I didn't add vinegar like many people suggest to ensure the colours don't fade. Since I do not intend to wash the yarn much (it will be a big shawl one day), I decided not to bother with it. Also, the packet instructions said nothing about it and since it is a chemical dye, I assume everything I need is already in it.

I prepared the dyes in three glass bowls/jugs/baking dishes/whatever I could find and simply hoped there would be enough space for all the yarn. It worked out fine and I distributed the lace as evenly as I could in each bowl. Sometimes I had to move the white sections into the dyes to ensure they would take on colour as well since they didn't entirely soak up the dye on their own.

The powder pink is exactly the shade I had expected. I could tell the colour might end up being semi-solid because the dish was shallow and there was only just enough space for the yarn. Towards the end when I realised that there was no dye left and not all the yarn had taken on colour, I added a bit of flamingo pink to it.

I do love this colour! It is lovely and rich and I enjoyed even just looking at it while I waited. If you look closely, you will see the sparkly bits that come out even more on a sunny day such as this.

Please forgive this picture of the intense purple with my camera and hands visible right in the middle. Now I wish I had taken another picture to show you the depth of colour. This dye, unlike the powder pink, was still left in the jug after I took out the yarn. I wish I had something more to dye just to use it up.

I left the yarn to dye for a bit over one and a half hours though the packet instructions said an hour, but I wanted to have as intense colours as possible. After several washes till the water was pretty much clear, I could see how my experiment had turned out. Not bad. I do wish now, though, that I had chosen a shade of blue rather than powder pink, but you never know how it will look when knitted up.

And right now the yarn is hanging on the door, waiting to dry. Luckily it is a sunny and warm day so I hope it won't take too long. I have a pattern ready and waiting for this yarn even if I first need to finish at least two other projects before I even start it. For now I can't wait to see what the yarn will be like when dry and wound properly. Very exciting and even a bit satisfying.

Another RAK and Another Stole

2011-07-18T00:17:00.003+02:00

Just after I posted about my last gift from the German RAK group on Ravelry, another envelope arrived. Anja brought me some more metal tags from a jewelry fair in Germany. I now have loads! They will last me for years, I think. She also added three stitchmarkers that I have added to my steadily growing box of homemade markers.

Also, I went into The Works yesterday just to have a look around and found such metal tags in the handmade card section. I now definitely have enough. Finally, I also have a storage box for beads and other odds and ends. Need I mention that it is already full? It doesn't help that I keep going to the bead shop all the time, though I try to use up what I buy immediately.

In other knitting news, I have made progress with the Seascape stole, but today I had to undo a third of it again because I made a mistake while changing from written to charted instructions. I realised it once I looked at the pattern and noticed it didn't look anything like it was supposed to. Unravelling Rowan kidsilk haze is very difficult and slow because of its fuzziness, but I managed it eventually.

Now a third shorter than before, I can continue with the pattern tomorrow. It shouldn't be too long before I am back where I left off, really, because reading the chart is far easier. The written instructions drove me crazy and I constantly lost my place in them. I had to concentrate far too hard on them while the chart is just better in order to visualise where you are and how the stole is meant to look.

Since Anke sent me some clear beads, I wanted to add them to the stole, but it turns out I am 99 beads short even for just the edging, so no luck there. It will just have to do without them and it looks really good in the nice sea green shade I am using.

German RAKers Are the Greatest

2011-07-14T12:58:00.004+02:00

Anke, a Raveler from Germany, sent me these little tags for my knitting this month. They are lovely and I always wanted to have some to add to gifts. I will have to think carefully about what I'll add them to in the end. They arrived just on time as I was leaving to go to knit club yesterday so I took them with me to show them off. Anke also sent me a little packet of clear rocailles beads (4 mm) that I might use for stitchmarkers (and earrings, my latest obsession) as well as knitting. Oh and she included a little packet of Haribo Goldbaeren! *squee* I know you can also buy them here, but these were proper German ones.

It is amazing how very generous German RAKers are, though of course the British ones are too. However, it is easier to get on with the German ones, I found, because they are less cliquish in the Ravelry group. I have no idea why that is! I have never spent as much time on Ravelry as I have since joining the group.

The orange fish stitchmarkers I made have now arrived in Austria where Sanarah is their proud new owner. I am hoping that the other two packets I sent the same day have also arrived in Germany.

Bachforelle: First Picture

2011-07-11T19:59:00.002+02:00

Not that there is much to see. I got through two charts, but had to stop before starting chart C because I just don't get it. Now I am waiting for Wendy to knit up to the same point so we can figure out how to continue. In the meantime I have started knitting the Seascape Stole to keep busy, making it in a lovely light shade of sea green.

Bachforelle is a beaded knit and that worked very well. It's not my first beaded project - it's the second -, so it's not an issue. The denim coloured beads are beautiful with the yarn. I am using Noro Kureyon sock yarn here and the colours are very pretty. The colour changes happen a lot quicker than I expected, but I am sure it will look great once the shawl is finished.

See? I said I would post about something other than stitchmarkers eventually!

When There's Nothing Else to Do

2011-07-11T15:27:00.003+02:00

Since knitting the Bachforelle shawl came to a sudden halt thanks to the convoluted chart C I was about to start, I have had to spend my time doing other things such as spinning, beginning another shawl altogether, and making yet more stitchmarkers. Oh yes.

I subscribed to Bijoux Bead's newsletter yesterday and immediately got one with a 15% off voucher to spend in store. Luckily, today they are having a few beadmaking demos, so I went to the early one about earrings. It was simple, but also very interesting to see a "professional" handle all the bits and bobs. Though I couldn't find the right beads for a pair of earrings, I bought a tool kit instead (partly visible in image below) which later came in handy for the stitchmarkers too.

Today's first markers were a pair of knit and purl ones I have been wanting to make for ages. Having made them now, though, they seem rather plain. Still, they are fun and useful nonetheless and I will most likely keep them for myself instead of giving them away as gifts. (I am amassing a whole lot of markers now, which is a bit worrying considering how seldom I need them.)

Some funkier markers are the Bollywood style ones above. I have some more Bollywood type beads in other shapes and four colours and I can't wait to make them. Even though I bought a number of beads, I think I need to go and get some more to go with specific beads. I haven't always got the combo I want.

For now, these two sets must suffice. I will soon post about something other than markers, I promise!

RAK Stitchmarkers

2011-07-03T11:04:00.003+02:00

For some reason, I woke up bright and early on a Sunday morning and was ready for an hour of stitchmarker making. Well, more like a few minutes rather than an hour since they are quickly made. Yesterday, I managed to stock up on some nice beads because stitchmarkers are very popular in the German RAK group, though not in the UK one for some reason. I have three sets to send to people, one of them is the red beaded set I posted here before. The second set is one that was a pain to make because the holes in the pearls were too narrow to do what I wanted. Still, they do look lovely and I like the fish and elephant charms especially.

The third set was a bit of an improvisation because I hadn't planned to put the beads together like this. I bought the lef-shaped glass beads at Bijoux Beads, as usual, but the rest I already had. in fact, the wooden beads with the flowers on them and the green glass beads are from a necklace I was once given. I hated it because the cord was horrible and the colours were just not me either, so I took it all apart. The beads now come in very handy and I really like these markers.

I hope everyone likes their surprises. I know I would - everytime I make stitchmarkers, I end up wanting to keep them for myself.

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby, Right Round

2011-07-02T20:38:00.004+02:00

Black-Rose from Ravelry fulfilled this month's RAK wish for me only minutes after I posted it in the group. Ever since Helen brought her new spindle to knit club a while ago, I have been wanting to try it myself. So I wished for a spindle for lace-weight yarn and some fiber to begin with. Black-Rose was very generous to fulfil my wish just like that and I received her package the very next day.

I don't know if she knew, but she got the colours of the fibre just right. The blue is nice and I especially like the purple. Above, you can see my first attempt at spinning yarn and it is a little uneven here and there, but I am discovering how to do it best. It is quite addicting and I spent last night spinning till late because I was too excited to be tired. I really like this new hobby of mine and hope that I will have many a chance to practice and improve.

I am curious to see how much yarn I get out of the fibre and what it will look like when knitted up. Can you believe I haven't done any knitting in the past two days?

New Bag! New Badge!

2011-06-26T17:02:00.003+02:00

I've been turning into the stereotypical woman lately, I realised. First, I noticed I had more shoes and boots than anyone would ever really need, but I blame that on the boot and shoe comany I used to work for at the time. And now I seem to like bags. I have been told not to buy any more and at today's local antiques and vintage market I was almost physically forced away from the booth with all the love huge raffia bags that would just be absolutely perfect for my yarn stash. (Yes, it's true, I am finally - though unintentionally - collecting an actual stash).

So this week I walked through Little Southgate, a part of Bath's Southgate complex I usually ignore, and there, in front of Endangered Madagascar, was a pile of raffia bags in all colours, shapes and sizes. Not only that: there was a sale too! There, I got this beauty for all of £10.

The bag is incredibly spacious so I am making it my knit club bag in which I can carry whatever I need on Wednesday evenings. The inside has a pretty lining of patterend blue and white fabric, with two little pockets added for a phone and other little odds and ends. The handle and the corners of the base are made of real leather and remind me old-fashioned suitcases.

Since I was on my way to Wool Bath at the time, I popped in and finlly, FINALLY bought this cute badge from Sumptuosity. I have been wanting "Knit happens" for ages now. As you can see, it now has a place of honour on my knit club bag.

Photo Update

2011-06-26T16:47:00.004+02:00

This is a quick photo update for Print o' the Wave. Since the weather is awsome here today, I was finally able to take a few pictures out in the sun. Now, if only Mark were less reluctant to help me with them, they would come out better.

And that is it for Print o' the Wave, I promise! On to the next project, whatever that will be. I haven't yet decided though the Bachforelle shawl is probably going to be it once I know how to start it. Having issues with the number of CO stitches since I want to make the shawl larger.

FO: Print o' the Wave

2011-06-20T22:22:00.004+02:00

Two months after casting on, it is finally complete: Print o' the Wave, blocked to almost within an inch of its life!

I am incredibly proud of it. This is probably the largest project I ever got myself into (it's longer than me!) and I am thrilled that you can't really see the many mistakes I made along the way. Luckily, they were only in sections in which I could somehow make up for them. If you're not very closely looking for them, you won't find them. It even took me ages to spot the only two I could see.

After today's blocking, however, I can say with absolute certainty that I hate blocking. I am not good at it with larger projects, especially if I use pins instead of wires like I did this time. Of course, it doesn't help if you run out of pins halfway through either. I really need to get some more. Also, once I unpinned the shawl in the evening one small section of the edging decided it would rather curl up instead of forming points. Well, I shall have to do that bit again then, won't I?

I almost had to postpone the blocking session when I realised that the numbered play mats I bought for the purpose were too few for this gigantic shawl. As if I had known this would happen, I had kept the receipt and promptly exchanged the mats for these ones below. 26 are definitely better than 10.

Now, where to store them all?

Print o' the Wave - Ready for Blocking

2011-06-20T01:39:00.004+02:00

(Image source)

Tonight I finally finished Print o' the Wave though it took me till late at night. I wanted to get it done now and even a substantial amount of frogging towards the end thanks to mysteriously dropped stitches couldn't stop me. So now it is done.

It is far too late in the night to block it, so I shall have to find time in-between translations and proofreading to do that. I can't wait! I want to know what it looks like (and whether my mistakes are visible or not). Also, I am keen to try out the foam mats for blocking and, most of all, I want to know how large the whole shawl will be in the end. I'll have something to show off at knit club this week!

And now to decide what to try next.

Knit Happens

2011-06-18T00:05:00.002+02:00

So it does.

Today Mark and I went to visit a friend of his. I had never been at his place before and was looking forward to visiting. I estimated the train journey to take 20 minutes, followed by a 30 minute walk to the house. I have no idea what gave me that idea.

In the end, the train ride took an hour. Of course I had nothing with me: no music, no book, NO KNITTING! I thought I could pass 20 minutes without needing any of it, but who would have guessed it would take us that long! Maybe I should simply have asked...

As for the 30 minute walk, that was estimated according to Mark's very speedy walking speed. In the end that took 45 minutes, possibly more, and all in all I have walked between 2-3 hours between Bath and Yate today. Had I known, I would have worn more sensible shoes.

Tomorrow: knitting. All day. It's either that or sleep.

Time for a Change

2011-06-16T11:54:00.005+02:00

(Image source)

Since starting this blog, I have changed the background and layout quite a few times. While the layout itself remained constant towards the end, the backgrounds didn't and once again I have felt that the blog needed a bit of a make-over.

Previously, I got my backgrounds from The Cutest Blog on the Block which features a number of usually very colourful templates. I found that most of them are too busy and distract from the content of my blog, so a plainer background seemed more sensible. It turned out that choosing one of Blogger's own templates was best and with a little bit of tweeking, here we are. A little dark perhaps, but for now it will do. I may choose a dark grey at some point, but right now black it is.

In other news, I almost missed knit club for the first time ever yesterday. I had been tired all day and even exercising in the morning didn't help at all. I was too sleepy to even contemplate walking half an hour to be social and working on my lace. In the end, I convinced Mark to walk me there, which for some reason was fine. So in the end I did go even though I had mentioned in our Ravelry group that I wouldn't be there this time.

Oddly enough, I was wider awake at knit club than I had been all day and made good progress on my lace edging. It shouldn't be long now till I get Print o' the Wave done. A few days ago I bought some foam playmats like this one that I can use for blocking, so all I need are some more pins and probably some string since I can't seem to find suitable thin rods to thread through the knitting. Almost set!

Stitchmarker Mania

2011-06-12T15:27:00.005+02:00

Saturday was a little bit boring even though I managed to get a lot done, considering it's the weekend. Among other things, I made some more stitchmarkers as future RAK gifts because I have noticed that there are lots of people who have them on their wish list. It's a good thing I like to make markers and have quite a lot of beads at hand too.

These red ones turned out very nicely, I think; so nicely, in fact, that I will be keeping one of them for myself. Now I have run out of wire and will make sure to get enough for quite a few more markers. It's a great way to get rid of large numbers of beads and it is a quick and fun acitvity.

Better Late than Never

2011-06-12T15:16:00.003+02:00

For some reason I never took pictures of my last winter hat and as far as I know I didn't even mention it before. I started it probably sometime in December 2010 while working for my last employer. Since I often had to wait for the bus or my lift on the way to work and back, I spent ages in the cold. It's no surprise I fell ill so often. Eventually, I decided to get some lovely Noro Silk Garden (colourway 211, I believe) to knit a plain and simple winter hat.

Sadly, I didn't have enough yarn for the pompon I had planned to make and I haven't got any other suitable yarn to use here. I would love to add it at some point just to finish the look.

As it is, the hat is incredibly warm and lovely in the cold. It is a little too big for my head, especially now that I have short hair, but I didn't feel like reknitting the whole thing. At the moment, my glasses are the only thing keeping it from slipping over my eyes.

What I could do if I really wanted to is sew an elastic into the edge of the hat, but somehow that just seems wrong. I guess I will just have to live with the looseness and be glad that my ears are no longer in danger of getting frostbite. For some reason, winter in England seems more of a health hazard than winter in Germany!

A Day of Gifts

2011-06-11T17:30:00.003+02:00

This postman delivered this parcel this morning and it is my first ever RAK gift! Grosi from Ravelry's German RAK group fulfilled my wish for a shawl pin. More than that, she sent not only one, but two! I love both of them: one is from KnitPro and made of its lovely multicoloured wood while the other has a shape that is reminiscent of Maori designs, which is perfect for someone like me who has written a book about particular aspects of the culture. I can't wait to wear my shawl with one of these pins!

Grosi also added a matching sock yarn, which is lovely, some chocolates and a box of green tea, just when I ran out of teabags. I was not expecting to get anything this month because it was my first time in a RAk group and nobody had mentioned sending anything my way. So it was a wonderful surprise and it proved to be the start to a wonderful day.

In the morning I also managed to post my RAK gift to another German Raveler who I hope will love her present. In the afternoon I got an email from a member of the group who said she would send me her leftover balls of pink mohair. Can the day get any better? I think not!

The weather is perfect, me and Mark had a lovely picnic in the sun, and gifts are being sent and received around the globe. Just perfect for today's Knit in Public Day!

Slow Progress

2011-06-10T17:18:00.005+02:00

(Image source)

Print o' the Wave is creeping along very slowly. I had started the edging on one of the longer sides and it took me ages to finish. Yesterday I finished one of the short sides and now have the long trek along the last long side ahead of me, which I am not looking forward to. Luckily, knit club helps in these situations and I end up knitting more repeats in one go than I do at home, simply because I am distracted by chat. That is a very good thing.

This weekend I will be sending off my first RAK gift to a lady in Germany who has no idea the stitchmarkers are on their way to her. I also found a very pretty postcard of Bath to go with them and I hope they will cheer her up. I have no idea if anyone is fulfilling my wishes, but the month has only just begun. Can't wait to find out!

Prismatic II - Déjà Vu

2011-06-05T17:38:00.004+02:00

Yes, I knitted the Prismatic scarf once before. Yes, it was also for Mark. And, yes, I said I would never knit him anything again since he has lost exactly 50% of the items I ever knitted for him. But then again knitting is an addiction and rational thinking has little to do with it at times, so here I am with another scarf for Mark.

I noticed that the designer has updated the pattern, which was a good thing because the one I used the first time around didn't incorporate the i-cord edging in the chart. That's why the first scarf didn't have a nice edging at all and it annoyed me that I couldn't get it right. At that point I hadn't knitted i-cords before so I had no idea what she was going on about anyway. So this new scarf is finally error free and I still love the stitch pattern.

The scarf got blocked this morning after I finished the second ball of Alafoss Lopi pure wool. I loved how thick the yarn was, but I still really dislike the way it feels. It is incredibly scratchy and I certainly wouldn't want it anywhere near my skin. Mark chose the yarn and didn't seem to mind, so that's good.

The only thing that I am not happy with regarding the finished product is the fact that it is too wide and too short. I didn't know how much I would get out of the yarn and really the scarf could do with another ball. Or I should have cast on fewer stitches. Luckily, Mark seems very happy with the result and he will finally be able to keep warm in the winter.

Let's just hope he doesn't lose this scarf as well!

A Day of Random Acts of Kindness

2011-06-02T10:43:00.005+02:00

Last night was knit club night again so of course I have something to write - and there are pictures!

I came to Wool Bath in the hopes of getting into a better mood by being in the company of fellow knitters. I'd had a bit of a dispute online with someone who is the perfect example that the words "With all due respect" can only have a disrespectful outcome. Never mind that now, though. Off I went to knit club and I was greeted by the usual suspects and a button Laura made for us all:

Isn't it pretty? Maybe I should commission one that says DomiKNITrix one day since a friend gave me this monicker recently.

Speaking of friends, knit club has a new member of the furry variety (courtesy of Mark's mum), who is very evidently an avid knitter. That said, I have never seen him knit, but he does like to snuggle up in some UFOs or among balls of yarn. I am sure he will be very happy in his new home among my knitting. I've provisionally named him Camembertie, simply because a few of our teddies have names ending with -bert and I couldn't come up with anything different. So Camembertie it is.

In other news, I have joined two groups on Ravelry that I didn't know existed and only found by chance. They're the Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) groups for the UK and Germany. There, people can make a wish every month and someone may fulfill it just because they feel like it, asking for nothing in return. Since I love giving gifts and this also seems like the perfect way to pass on things others may want though I may no longer be keen on them, I just had to join.

The German group only just started, so it is all new, but already I can tell the people are lovely and very generous. I have selected an unsuspecting giftee who will receive the stitchmarkers above. I made them earlier today and will try to find a pretty postcard to add to them. I bet she isn't expecting anything all the way from England!

The markers are made of four pink glass beads, two small plastic beads, two small metallic glass beads, tiger's eye and garnet. I do love making markers, but I can't keep them all to myself because I don't need them that much, so the RAK groups are perfect for making new ones just to give away.

Knit Club @ Wool Bath

2011-05-26T17:47:00.005+02:00

Finally, I came around to taking some pictures of our knit club this week. See the absence of biscuits and other treats? We were good this Wednesday and only had one packet of biscuits and, admittedly, one cake, both unintentionally but expertly hidden in the photos. Of course Laura offered us tea and coffee again so we were well cared for. There were quite a few of us and we had two dogs come to visit us as well. It was fun as always with lots of chatting, laughs, and knitting advice (not to mention networking with potential colleagues/employers).

I arrived in time to grab a seat on the comfy sofa and had enough space to spread out my knitting. I was struggling with getting the edging of my shawl started and connected to what I had already knitted. Luckily, it is easy now that I have done a part of it and I simply have to knit a 16-row repeat all the way round. Tiring, yes, but also worth it in the end, I'm sure.

It is always hard to knit in such a lovely shop and not come home with new yarn. Most of the time, I manage to resist. Alas, this time I couldn't wait any longer and bought a beautiful skein of Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace, the same I am making the shawl from. This time, though, I bought it in teal. The image doesn't even do it justice. It's just too pretty not to buy. Though I had nothing in particular in mind for it when I bought it, I think I shall knit the Bachforelle shawl in it instead of using Noro Kureyon. Should be lovely!

Progress and Further Projects

2011-05-24T12:10:00.005+02:00

Print o' the Wave is progressing nicely and I am working on the edging now. It is a bit frustrating how the edging alone is done with two different methods: picking up all the stitches around the edge and knitting around it only to knit the lacy edging onto it by knitting the last stitch of the WS rows together with the shawl. I would have preferred to do it all in one go and seeing how this very same pattern seems to show up under different names on Ravelry, I wouldn't be surprised if someone had actually done it. That really annoys me.

Anyway, it should be done in a short while unless I get distracted. That said, I am not in any particular hurry at the moment. Also, I haven't yet bought the beads I need for the next project.

Right now I am waiting to buy The Knitter's fourth issue from a Raveler so that I can finally knit the Katerina Shawl I saw in it. This was the first issue I decided not to buy because there was only one pattern in it that I liked. However, I kept thinking about that shawl so I simply have to have it now. One thing I better not think about is the cost of the yarn needed for it!

A Maritime Theme

2011-05-12T12:46:00.001+02:00

In my last post I wrote about the pattern for Kleine Bachforelle that was confusing me. I think I may have found the problem now: my printer. While asking for help with the patterns at yesterday’s knit club, I realised that the boxes in the chart that looked like knit stitches actually had faint marks in them. My printer’s fault entirely. It turns out that those boxes were meant to be YOs, which explains my confusion. Let’s hope that is all the trouble I will have with this pattern because I am very much looking forward to knitting it. I will need to pre-knit it, I think, just to see how it goes. Until then I won’t buy the beads I plan to use, though the wait is killing me.

Since I seem to have been bitten by the bead bug now, I couldn’t resist having a look at Bijoux Beads in Bath yesterday. At first I was just trying to find beads for the pattern, but, as I suspected, they do not sell those. Instead, I got drawn in by all those colourful beads around the room and ended up buying some to make fishy stitchmarkers to go with Kleine Bachforelle.

The fish charms are in silver and gold and I am actually thinking about using them along the edges of Kleine Bachforelle in the end. Very tempting! The golden fish stitchmarkers have an aqua goldstone square bead that seemed far too large at first. In the end, it turned out to be an excellent match for the fish, though. For the silver fish, I used peacock glass trumpet beads instead that look a little undersized in comparison. They are still lovely markers nonetheless. Each marker uses white glass pearl beads (4 mm) as separaters, and they are strung onto a light blue tiger tail thread. To hold everything in place, I simply used silver crimp beads. Et voila!

These markers were quick to make and one of the ladies at the knit club said I ought to make some and sell them on Etsy. Maybe someday. I am already using these ones for Print o’ the Wave.

Speaking of which, I have finally taken a photo of this work in progress. Seems a bit pointless as you can’t see the pattern until it is all done and blocked. Still, you can see the lovely soft and shiny Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace yarn here. It is beautiful to knit with and the best thing is probably to use wooden needles with it. I am not, so the yarn is quite slippery. By now I have finished 30 of the 37 repeats I need before I can knit the edging. Not far to go now!

WIP: Print o' the Wave and a New Project

2011-05-08T12:14:00.006+02:00

I am making progress with Print o' the Wave. For the most part, my issues with the number of stitches has magically resolved itself. Even though I happened to have an extra stitch sometimes, you can't actually tell when you look at the result. At least that's the impression I have so far without have a blocked shawl. It may be quite a different matter once it's been stretched to within an inch of its life.

The Scrumptious lace yarn is incredibly soft and I love knitting with it. So far I have finished 27 of the 34 lace pattern repeats for the centre panel, so the end is slowly coming into sight. As such, it doesn't really take long to knit, I have the impressen. Still, last evening I timed my knitting and it turns out I need about an hour for just one repeat over 12 rows. I am looking forward to the final result and hope making the edging will be straightforward.

However, since I have only been knitting this shawl without having any other projects going, I also can't wait to start something new. Particularly, having all this new yarn at home isn't helping matters. I have found use for one of the new skeins of Noro Kureyon I bought in Exeter (where I didn't knit a single stitch for a week despite having my shawl with me). I want to make the Kleine Bachforelle, a german pattern that is also available as an English translation. That said, I wll most likely use the English one since I am not that used to German knitting terms despite my being German. The pattern also uses beads, so right now I am on the lookout for the kind of 4mm Rocailles that our local bead shop does not seem to have. Looks like an online purchase is in order sometime soon. I guess if I already had the beads, I'd start that pattern right now!

Image: Ute Sturm (Ravelry)

I will try to make that shawl twice as wide if I can. I am a little confused by the pattern because it looks far too confusing for such a simple thing. I hope I can get my head around it.

It's Easter Time

2011-04-19T18:32:00.004+02:00

And that means it is also time for Easter patterns. Mochimochi Land has published a free pattern for teenie-tiny baby bunnies. Even I could not resist them, so I made two within just a few minutes. I might just make some more later on.

These will probably be the only thing by way of Easter decoration I will have. Yesterday I finished dying eggs with the German Easter egg dye I miss here in the UK, but doing anything more seemed a bit pointless as we will be on holiday over Easter (and I didn't realise till the plans were more or less finalised, duh). So these little bunnies are just the right thing this year!

Fyberspates Yarn and an Annoying Stole

2011-04-10T23:29:00.004+02:00

At this week's knitting club I finally gave in and bought a skein of Fyberspates lace in cherry red. I love how soft this yarn is and I had more use for the laceweight rather than the stunning chunky yarn, though I hope to get that as a birthday present (fingers crossed).

Since I have a lot of favourite lace patterns saved on Ravelry, I had a lot to choose from too. In the end, I decided on Print o' the Wave. I am still not too sure if that was a good idea or not! So far I have only knitted two repeats of the centre panel and I keep ending up with an extra stitch at the end of two rows. I have no idea why this happens because I am following the pattern thoroughly. Also, when I test knitted the pattern in a smaller version, it worked fine. So at the moment I am just keeping on and have to k2tog at the end of those two rows. I am hoping it won't mess with the overall pattern and will look fine. At this point it is hard to tell.

At least I have found the errata for the edging I will be knitting at the very end. Let's hope that part won't prove to be even worse to manage!

Pat

2011-04-08T14:29:00.003+02:00

It took just over a month to finish Pat the teddy. Knitting the separate parts was not what took me so long; instead, it was the assembling of limbs I kept putting off.

The trouble with eyelash yarn is that if you make a mistake, it is almost impossible to undo it. Also, you have to be very brave when sewing the limbs onto the body because whatever you do, that's the way it will have to stay. Because this yarn is so fuzzy, you cannot see where you are stitching, so you better hope you are getting it right the first time!

So, at last I risked it at this week's knitting club. Luckily, Pat turned out to be cuter than I expected. Especially his face is so much nicer than the picture on the knitting kit indicated. One leg is a bit wonky (i.e. the foot is pointing to the side instead of up for some reason) and Pat, alas, is a hunchback - but all in all he turned out well and seems quite sturdy and happy to be here.

Jaywalker Socks

2011-04-05T12:15:00.004+02:00

It took me more than two years to finally get around to making these socks! I was waiting for the right yarn and was lucky enough to receive this one from a friend as a Secret Santa gift from the US. The yarn is Jo-Ann Sensations Bamboo and Ewe Pattern (colourway 2280), which I happen not to be able to get in the UK, it seems. A few people at the knitting club have commented on the yarn and I have had to disappoint them because I haven't found a place here that sells it.

The pattern itself is very simple and straightforward so that you can knit it while watching TV or doing whatever else will keep you occupied. You really need stripy yarn to bring out the zigzag pattern. I used 2.5 mm DPNs and only knit the small size socks despite having very wide feet. The needle suggestion for this yarn was smaller, so choosing slightly larger needles was the right decision for me.

So what's up next? I'm not entirely sure. I still have to sew the teddy together, which I am reluctant to do because the eyelash yarn means I can't actually see what I am doing. I don't want to ruin it - once I've made a stitch, that's it, I can't undo it because I can't see it. So far, the teddy looks really good and I especially like its face which turned out much better than I expected. Apart from this, I may start a tank top with a new yarn I bought from Ann at the knitting club. It probably isn't enough even for a tank, but you never know. And finally, there is still the cast-on edge of a jumper I started a bit ago. Hm, decisions, decisions.

Review: Knit Your Own Royal Wedding (Fiona Goble)

2011-03-22T09:23:00.003+01:00

To win the book, I was asked to write a review of it. Here is what I wrote on the Waterstone's website:

Nice Souvenir

21 March 2011

This is a fun book, whether you intend to actually knit any of the dolls or not. It is a nice little souvenir to commemorate the royal wedding and if you are so inclined you can go ahead and knit a number of royals, footmen, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and even a few corgies.

On the whole, the dolls are easy to knit, though most of the time is taken up by the embellishments which make them really stand out and give them character. The book is divided into different chapters that feature certain dolls and represent the stages of, for instance, the engagement, the ceremony at the altar, and the kiss on the balcony. What's more, the boom includes a cardboard balcony you can use as a backdrop for your knitted characters.

You can knit characters of your own choice, even yourself, with a little tweaking. There are a few patterns for random dresses, suits and hats to give you something to start with.

It is nice to have the book, as I said, as a souvenir, which is what makes it special. If it had been a book only about a variety of random dolls, it wouldn't be anything special at all. This is more of a book for knitters who very much enjoy knitting small toys, of course. For me, being a knitter who prefers making items of clothing, it is a book I am happy with as a gift, but I wouldn't ever buy.

Competition Win!

2011-03-10T23:34:00.004+01:00

I don't think I have ever won a competition, certainly not in recent years. Occasionally I do take part in some, though to be fair they tend to be writing competitions more than anything else. When Waterstones announced a competition on Facebook that merely required you to post a picture of something you have knitted, I took part. Despite the fact that the prize was a copy of Knit Your Own Royal Wedding. Still, I am thrilled that I was one of the winners and I only just found out by chance when I checked back to see if anything had been announced.

Once the book is here, of course I will write more about it.

Kai-Mei - Done (ish)!

2011-03-09T16:05:00.005+01:00

Good God, I'm glad it's done! That said, it may not be because even though I have finally finished knitting these socks after having had to basically knit one sock all over again, I realised while taking these pictures that one cuff is a little longer than the other. I have no idea how that is possible because I used a row counter all the way through. At the moment, I am not sure if I will undo the sock all over again or perhaps find another way to lengthen the cuff without unravelling everything.

Since this is a Cookie A design, I had expected the socks to be more comfortable than they turned out to be. What I like about her designs is that foot fit, especially at the heel. Here, too, the heel is a great fit, but due to the twisting pattern in the foot, it feels a little awkward and I keep wanting to rearrange the toe.

Other than all that I do like these socks. They were easy and fun to knit and I look forward to making some more of Cookie A's designs. I've already had to extend my library loan so I could keep her book a bit longer. I really need to get new ink cartridges for my printer/copier so I can take out what I want.

So now I haven't really got anything else to knit. There is the teddy I started, but I still have no idea what to do with the green fine 3-ply. I am hoping to find a suitable yarn for my jumper and may get lucky this evening at the knitting club meeting. Other than that things are pretty boring in the knitting department right now. I guess I might as well try extending the cuff of these Kai-Mei then.

Update: In the end, I undid the cast-on of the cuff, picked up the stitches and added 10 rows so that I now have a pair of socks that are exactly the same length. Huzzah!

Day of Fails

2011-03-04T16:32:00.003+01:00

Ah well, it is not my day today.

First, I realised that I made a huge mistake in the second Kai-Mei sock. For some reason I misplaced the lace section and did not realise it until I was about to start on the toe. Soooo rip went half the sock. Onwards and upwards.

Then, I ventured into town to visit the local yarn shop to look for suitable yarn for the Emmaline jumper. I've finally found a top that looks like a quick and easy start into the mysteries of jumper knitting and what happens? Yup, that specified yarn is not available in the UK and it looks like anything with cotton does not come in the weight I need. Hurrah. Who knows if I will ever get to knit it now.

And finally, I managed to torture myself with all the lovely yarns that I would love to buy, but, being the sensible type, I left the shop without any of it. *sigh*

WANTS!!!!!!!!11111eleventyone

2011-03-03T21:28:00.002+01:00

Emmaline: so simple and awsome I just have to try and make it sometime (soon?)!

Kai-Mei in Progress, the Knitting Club, and a Bear in a Bag

2011-02-23T13:16:00.005+01:00

Having found Cookie A's Sock Innovation book in the local library, I started knitting her Kai-Mei socks at my first knit club meeting last week. They are pretty easy to knit, but the yarn I am using is definitely too colourful for the lace panel to come through. Still, I knew that before I started and I wasn't going to buy new sock yarn just now.

Above you see a picture of these socks from Cookie's book. I love how the lace travels around the top of the foot. I have completed the entire length of lace on the first sock now and should be able to finish sock number 1 today. Sock number 2 should be done fairly soon as well since I will have a lot of time to spare as of this Friday when I leave my job (hurrah!).

The knitting club meeting last week was good fun. It was weird that nobody apart from the shop owner actually introduced themselves to me so I have no idea who the others are. I hope that will change soon. Today is another meeting and I am really looking forward to it.

Currently, I am also knitting a teddy from Patons' knitting kit that Mark's mum gave me for Christmas:

I wonder if it will actually look the way it does on the picture in the end. I am a bit worried about making the eyes and nose. The knitting itself is straight forward. Perhaps I will take this to the knitting club today just so I can finish the body. I have to do 45 rows of plain k and p rows, over and over, so it is rather a mindless occupation that is best suited for film nights or meetings of any kind when you can get your mind off the monotony of endless k and p.

Mojo 2 and Happy Feet

2011-02-14T12:13:00.006+01:00

My feet are happy again: the second pair of Mojo socks is finally finished and it even seems as though both cuffs have the same length when worn. That isn't as easy as it sounds because the different kinds of ribbing behave differently too. In the end I didn't even look at the knitting pattern since it is quite simple. The heel is different from the original simply because I can't get my feet into any socks with an afterthought heel.

For this project, I used Regia's Vulcano Color yarn that I got as a Secret Santa gift from Natalie in Germany. I liked this colourway despite not generally liking Regia, but it was particularly suitable for Mojo socks. I sitll have one other skein left in a different colourway and haven't yet decided what to do with it. If I remember, I may finally go to one of the local knitting meetings on Wednesday and I might get ideas there.

At this point I am unsure as to what the next knitting project will be. There is the sock yarn, and I unexpectedly found Cookie A.'s latest sock pattern book in our library, so that is tempting. However, I still have a large amount of green lace yarn from Nina at Schafwoelkchen and there are so many things I could do with it. I need to try and narrow down the choice soon so I can get started on a larger project. At this point I amnot keen on making another shawl since I noticed I tend not to use one very often, at least not the pretty lacy kind. Maybe it will be a top next.

Mojos for the Bin

2011-02-02T19:08:00.002+01:00

So, the time has come to reknit my Mojo socks because we managed to shrink my first pair in the wash. I say we, though it was Mark who washed them in the mashine, but it was me who didn't mind. Yikes. Now they are so tight I can't get them on any longer and they rest in the bin.

Now, luckily I just got new sock yarn for Christmas and one large ball of it is a nice green with multicoloured stripes. It is perfect for Mojo and I am already on the second sock. This one is proving to be rather difficult, which is why I haven't continued knitting for about a week - that and the fact that I just had surgery a week ago and couldn't sit up very well.

But I do intend to finish them! I am considering openieng the first sock again because it turned out a little tight over the arch, but I am not sure. It doesn't help that I worked this pair without the pattern and simply went for it. Ah well, I'll get them done sometime or another.

The other day on Failblog.

2010-10-28T22:12:00.003+02:00

Click on image to enlarge.

see more Failbook

wool: Bath's Premier Knitting Emporium

2010-10-24T11:06:00.006+02:00

Bath finally has it's own proper yarn shop! I only discovered this in the local papers this week, so the first thing I did on Saturday was go and have a look at it. Luckily, it is very central and therefore easy to get to. I suspect I won't be needing to go all the way to Brislington anymore from now on.

wool only just opened in October and it is great to be able to go into a shop, see and feel the yarn before buying. Online shopping just can't offer the same experience. and you know what you will get. Aside from a lot of the yarn you would expect to find in a good yarn shop, I was happy to see a few fancier things as well. Oh, and they have KnitPro too! Hurrah!

I am looking forward to any new yarns they may be getting in the future and especially the knitting groups and workshops promised to come. (I really do miss being able to go to such gatherings ever since I left our knitting group in Germany). The shop is small, but very cosy - love the sofas! - especially on a day as rainy as the day I first stepped inside it. It is definitely worth a visit and I am sure I will drop by again now and then to have a look around and stock up. I haven't felt this excited about knitting in a long time!

PS: The Big Knit has extended its deadline now - too bad I already posted all of my mini hats. If you have some more you can drop them in person at Age Concern or wool. If only I had known!

Featured on Ravelry's Designer pages

2010-10-24T10:59:00.004+02:00

By now I have two of my project pictures featured on the designers' pages on Ravelry.

Recently I was asked if they could use my Hands of Blue picture and previously one of the photos of the Scottie Doggy Cardigan was also used. Nice! I didn't expect that, so it was a nice surprise.

Hands of Blue for Jasmin

2010-10-18T21:53:00.002+02:00

A quick and satisfying project for a friend and colleague of mine. She always comes to work on her bike and since it is getting quite chilly out there now, she asked for a pair of warm gloves.

These were made from Lucy Hague's pattern on Ravelry and I like the pattern so much that I may well make a pair of half-fingered gloves for work myself. Though now that I am ready for it, the heating at work is on full all day and we have tropical temperatures indoors. Quite a change from last year's freezing cold!

Anyway, Jasmin supplied the yarn, I supplied the pattern, and this is the pretty result.

The Big Knit - Time's Up!

2010-09-25T21:22:00.003+02:00

87 little hats for The Big Knit 2010 are now complete and on their way to Innocent Smoothies. The deadline is October 4 so I finished them in good time. There are a variety of hats in the mix, some fruit themed, a couple of animals, numerous improvised designs and some taken from pattern books. I don't think I have a favourite because there are so many that turned out really nicely.

The more complicated ones are definitely among the best because the designs turned out well even on such a small scale. They were much more fun to knit than easy ones because they posed a bit of a challenge. Also, it allowed me to use up some of the yarn I had left at the bottom of the bag, knowing it would never be used for anything larger than these hats.

Figures are harder to do, especially without any patterns. That is why I only made two of them, though I am especially proud of the bunny. I have seen some of the amazing designs featured on The Big Knit's Hat of the Week page. Wish I had the patience and patterns for those!

I like knitting lace, but most of those patterns don't work very well on little hats. These were among the last ones I knit because they were quick to do.

The first ones I knit, however, were fruit themed and my favourite is the watermelon design featured on the bottle below. Inadvertently, I also ended up making a courgette, complete with little yellow flower on top. In fact, it was meant to be a random design with pretty flower, but it wouldn't quite work the way I had planned.

The other kind of random design simply consisted of various bits of yarn put together and experimenting with the edges.

I enjoyed making these and it was a simple thing to do for a good cause. I hope that we will have helped lots of people with this event. I am definitely looking forward to seeing the little hats on bottles in the supermarket this winter and I hope I will remember to take part again next year.

The Big Knit 2010

2010-08-08T17:09:00.002+02:00

At last I won't miss out on The Big Knit!

In the past two years I only heard about it too late and it was only by chance that I thought of it again. For information on how to join this charity project supported by Innocent Smoothies, click here.

So now I am busily knitting little hats. I have no idea how many I will have in the end, but I have loads of leftover yarn that will be handy for these fast items. Right now I am mainly making them while watching the whole series of Buffy from beginning to end. And since I start my new (old) job later this month, my future lunch breaks will be filled with knitting too.

I will have to come up with new pattern ideas soon because I have now done everything I can easily think of. My favourite hats so far are the strawberry and watermelon ones. In my next post I shall add some pictures.

It'll be fun!

Teddy Bears for Baby

2010-07-16T16:22:00.004+02:00

At last I managed to block the teddy bear baby blanket I made quite some time ago! The knitting itself was quick and I used some baby yarn that Mark's mum got for free at a knitting fair. It was a rather mindless project because it is very simple and only involves counting the k and p stitches. Good thing too as I haven't felt like knitting much for some time now. I think that's mainly because I don't have any good yarn left now and won't be able to buy any anytime soon.

I can't say anything about the yarn other than it is 100 percent acrylic (yikes!). Still, that will make it easy to wash, which is probably the most important thing with babies.

Fraggle Rock - The Knitting Song

2010-05-09T18:00:00.000+02:00

Eat Your Veggies Baby Hat

2010-04-27T16:25:00.002+02:00

It looks as though more friends of mine will be having babies this year, so it was a good thing I started practising my baby knits. The Eat Your Veggies baby hat was irresistible and finally I had an excuse to make it. It is tiny!

I am not entirely sure it will fit a newborn's head, but I hope it does. Right now I am knitting another one of these in white, though I may opt for something entirely different because I tend not to knit the same thing twice. Where is the fun in that?

I had to knit the hat with 3mm DPNs because the recommended size didn't look any good at all. To make up for the difference, I cast on more stitches, however. I used the same Sirdar Snuggly DK that I had for the baby cardigan earlier and I still have loads left. That is why I am considering making a jumper or something similar for the next baby.

Magic Mirror and Scottie Dogs

2010-04-13T10:36:00.003+02:00

It seems as though I am back to my old multitasking self again. Right now I have a few projects on the go and the latest ones are my Magic Mirror socks and a baby cardigan.

These socks have been in my queue on Ravelry for ages and since I got some nice sock yarn for Christmas last year, I can finally knit them. It would look better in yarn of a single colour or with subtler shades, I suppose, but right now I am not being picky. After having had to begin knitting these socks three times, I finally found the right size for me. I am using 2mm needles and making the large size socks, which fit well. I am still just 2/3 through the first sock, though.

Beth and Dan revealed that they are having their first baby in August and of course I immediately knew I was going to knit something for it. Incidentally, I bought the latest issue of the Knitter recently for the first time in many months and it had a pattern for the Scottie dog cardigan that I thought would be a great way to learn how to knit a proper garment. It all went very well and very quickly too, but I have found that I really hate sewing in the loose ends! I do not mind assembling the pieces, however, which was rather fun to my surprise.

The cardigan still needs blocking before it is done, so I hope the intarsia will be smoother than it is at the moment. I guess I knitted it a bit too tight. I am not entirely happy with my colour choice, but there wasn't a lot to choose from in the shop at the time. What is more, Beth and Dan don't want to know whether the baby will be a boy or a girl, so I had to choose colours that would be neutral. I hope these are fine.

The buttons are from an old blouse of mine that I no longer have. Luckily, I tend to keep buttons for no particular reason and they do come in handy sometimes.

I may well knit some baby booties and a hat as well since there is a lot of yarn left. I would also like to knit myself a spring shrug, but can't find the right pattern. So I may have to improvise, which means lots of measuring and maths. Yikes!

Unravelling Socks

2010-03-01T10:31:00.004+01:00

Having decided that the Outside In socks were far too tight, I had to unravel them again. Ah well. At least now I have cast on Magic Mirror which I have been wanting to knit for a while. Let's hope these work out all right! I also hope they have enough stretch if I do knit them with the 2 mm needles recommended in the instructions. Of course I only noticed that once I had cast on with 2.5 mm ones, how typical.

This week I will be in Edinburgh on holiday and since I am going there by train, I will have about 6 hours of knitting time. I am glad I am not flying and have to leave my knitting in my suitcase instead.

Still have no idea how to block my cardi other than waiting till I can buy some rods to do it with instead of pins. This is just a matter of months, I can tell.

Cardigan and Socks

2010-02-21T10:01:00.003+01:00

Even though I haven't posted lately, I have been knitting on and off since Christmas. One of these days iI may also have pictures to add, but at the moment I am not particularly happy with either one of the projects I have begun.

Firstly, there is that circular cardi I have been trying to make, but I don't have enough yarn to make it as big as I need it. However, it may yet fit once it is blocked, but right now I don't even know how or where to block it properly. That is why it will have to wait and I have no proper pictured. Eventually, it may not even fit at all and I will have to unravel everything, who knows.

Then there are the Outside In socks which, oddly enough, I am not going to wear inside out after all, I decided. I prefer the look of them that way. Somehow I had a problem with the pattern and ended up having to improvise a lot. Since the afterthought heel is no good for high insteps, I have had to make a different heel as well. Considering it has been ages since I made my last socks, it took me several tried to figure out exactly how I used to knit my favourite heel too. Oh dear.

I am not in any hurry to finish and neither project may get done as intended. Nonetheless, the yarns are beautiful and a present from my Secret Santa last year. I love the yarn, I just need to do something good with it.

Book: Sensual Knits

2009-09-26T22:02:00.004+02:00

Now that The Knitter has disappointed me yet again, I felt no qualms when I found Yahaira Ferreira's book Sensual Knits and bought it instead. I'd seen it before in exactly the same shop, but that was before I lost weight and none of the patterns were near enough to my size. So when I saw the book again this week and saw it was the last copy left for only £3.99, I couldn't resist any longer.

Some of the patterns are my current new size or very close to it, so that I am very excited about knitting some of the items and starting a first big project or wearable tops. I have scanned the most interesting images of things I would like to knit once I can afford the luxury yarns required for the projects:

The Vixen Camisole didn't catch my eye at first, but after a while it grew on me. It couldbe very nice in summer, perhaps with a simple shrug of some sort. I may well give it a try and perhaps make a longer version as a nighty.

Speaking of nighties, the above image is the silky negligee that was reprinted in The Knitter some months back. I'd love to give it a try, though I will have to adjust the size to make it fit me. For some reason, all the dresses in the book are in small sizes so I shall either have to adjust them or wait till I can fit into them.

The silken cowl tank is another item that did not interest me at first glance, but I love the colour and the garment looks very lovely in this yarn. I may knit it, especially as it is very simple to do, and wear it with something to cover up my arms. Since I am starting a new job on Monday, I have been thinking of clothes fit for the office, and I think this could be one.

The Sayuri jumper would probably be perfect for me. I am undecided about the sleeves now that I have seen other people's projects on Ravelry, where the sleeves weren't always flattering. I shall have to experiment and see for myself. The yarn is especially soft and seems to shimmer, but I have looked up the price and don't think I shall be able to get it - unfortunately, that's what I fear will be the fate of pretty much all the suggested yarns in the book. Still, I am sure there are some nice substitutes.

Ramona is a very boring jumper, to be honest, but it seems simple enough and a better fit for me than even Sayuri's design. With a few adjustments to make it more interesting - for instance, a change of colour and the addition of some lace - I could well imagine myself wearing it and looking good in it too.

Cable has always been a strange thing for me. I dislike it, deep down, but sometimes there are items that look really stunning with a cable design. Also, I do not like heavily cabled items, but this Moss Cable cardigan seems ideal to me. It may well end up being my first project, simply because it should be a relatively fast knit, and I have been looking for a new cardigan for years now since I only have one. I would knit it in Merino yarn, like the original, but in a more flattering colour that will suit me better.

Wraps are a new passion for me ever since I knit the first lace shawl. The Cleopatra wrap seems perfect - it is simply, yet elegant, just the way I like my clothes most of the time. The yarn is beautiful too, so maybe I will even buy the one used in the image above. Again, I shall have to find a nicer shade.

Betty is something much simpler: a vest like that would probably be the quickest knit and it is just what I need for work as well. Still, it seems to be less interesting to knit, so that I won't be making it first. I'd like to give it a try one day and see how I get on with it. I think this may need modifications and some lace instead of cable, or some more distinct cabling elsewhere. We shall see.

And, finally, this is the cover image that interested me from the beginning. It is the balloon sleeve jacket (somehow I didn't notice the balloon sleeves till much later and I am not sure I am keen on them, to be honest) and what appeals to me is the classic look. I have no idea if this would suit me in the end since jackets of this kind usually don't, but I may yet try it anyway. I would use the same colour as well, though probably a cheaper yarn. Who said knitting was cheap?

Apart from the featured items here, there are a few other ones I am not yet sure about. They are simpler and/or less suitable for me and mostly the colours don't manage to catch my attention. Perhaps they will grow on me as well, who knows? I am happy to say, however, that this book has been a very worthwhile purchase already and I would very much rather buy books like this one instead of another personally useless issue of The Knitter.

Disenchanted with The Knitter

2009-07-16T21:39:00.005+02:00

I recall my review of the first issue of The Knitter. By now there have been 7 issues of which I bought only 5. Issue 4 had just one pattern in it that I desperately wanted, but I thought that didn't warrant spending £6 on the whole mag. Now I regret it because I haven't been able to get it anywhere else. I was very disappointed with that particular issue, but luckily the next one was okay again. However, issue 7 was even worse - with nothing it it that was of interest to me at all! I still find that hard to believe, but it was all just awful. I am hoping that the one due by the end of the month is going to be better so that I can buy it again. I hate not having the entire series so far, but then it is a lot of money to spend on a magazine and I can't justify the purchase if I know I won't be using the patterns.

What annoys me about the magazine is that every issue needs errata in the end. What's the point of buying it if what's in it isn't correct? Also, I do not think that the patterns are actually particularly difficult. Some are very easy and certainly not just geared towards the experienced knitter despite the magazine claiming it to be so. I am glad there is Ravelry, which has loads of things for everybody, a lot of it for free. Also, why do people sell old issues on Ebay for twice the original price? In the UK even?

In future, I shall proceed as I have so far and only buy the issues I actually find useful. It may leave me with gaps in my collection quite often, but my little money is too dear to me to squander it on The Knitter every month. I could get 5 secondhand books at the local charity shop for that money!

A Long Overdue Update

2009-06-30T10:47:00.003+02:00

Dear me, it's been a while, hasn't it? I'm afraid I haven't got anything new to post today either because I still haven't been able to afford new yarn since making the baby blanket. There is hope, though! Now that I finally have a paying job, not just a voluntary one, I am looking forward to my first wages next month, which I will use to save up for a trip to Get Knitted in Brislington to purchase some of their yarn. I have no particular plans, though I would love to make another lace shawl, a big one, and some tops. I doubt I can afford enough yarn for the latter, so I will probably have to make do with something smaller. That's okay though, as long as I get back into knitting at last. To my surprise I haven't had the time to miss it as much as I thought I might. Somehow I manage to keep myself busy all the time.

So, fingers crossed, I will have the chance to put up a new post in the near future! In the meantime I shall jealously watch what other knitters are up to at the moment.

Bamboo Baby Blanket

2009-05-01T17:38:00.004+02:00

Steffi is having her baby at the end of July so this baby blanket will reach her a little early, but I am sure she will like it no matter when it arrives. It is the first blanket I ever made and I like the simple pattern that still remains interesting enough both to look at and to knit. The feather and fan pattern would come out more if I blocked the blanket, but I decided not to because it is a practical blanket that will probably have to endure quite a few washes.

Material:

4 mm DPNs
2oo g King Cole Bamboo Cotton, colourway 531, dye lot 63916
rowcounter

The cotton and bamboo blend was incredibly nice to work with. It is such a nice summer yarn that I wished I could knit a top with it in time for summer. Bamboo Cotton comes in 8 different shades of which I liked the purple best. I can imagine knitting something light and lacy with it, though it won't be happening this summer.

I used a free pattern that you can find here. It's not much of a pattern as such since you don't really need one. All you have to know is the 4-row repeat that you will be knitting till the blanket is long enough. It's a nice and easy project for knitting while watching TV or listening to the radio and the result looks lovely in its simplicity.

Mitred Towel

2009-04-22T13:01:00.002+02:00

At long last I am back again with a new post! I must admit I haven't been knitting very much and that the main project I am working on at the moment is a baby blanket for a friend due at the end of July. That means I am not in a hurry and I don't have much else to knit at the same time.

After finishing the tea cosy I started on a mitred towel from Mason-Dixon, which you can see above. I just finished another one in green and yellow too and shall add the images once I get back home in two weeks. At present Mark and I are house-sitting for friends while they get married in Barbados, so somebody has to take care of the pets.

Materials:

5mm circs
a ball of Sugar 'n Cream yarn and some leftovers to add to the loop if desired
rowcounter

It is a quick and easy knit and nothing that requires a lot of attention either. It kept me busy for a day or two when we really needed more towels in the kitchen. I am getting rather domestic.

Very British

2009-03-30T12:41:00.006+02:00

Bear with me while I try to figure out how to add pics from this computer which doesn't seem to allow me to do things as usual.

Material:

85 g Sugar 'n Cream, colourway 19605
a bit of spare Sugar 'n Cream Stripes for the string and bobbles, colourway 23143
5 mm circs
row counter

This tea cosy is the first project I finished since my move to England and how fittingly British it is! I used the Rosie Posy Tea Cosy pattern from The Knitter as a guide though I certainly didn't stick to it. It was useful as a general outline of what I wanted to do. Basically, my tea cosy is merely a ribbed tube with two slits in it for handle and spout. That's it. I pulled yarn through the top and added bobbles for decoration, so it was a very quick and easy knit. I wasn't sure whether it would work well for keeping tea warm as it seems to be rather thin despite the thick cotton yarn. I am happy to say that it does work nicely and that I had warm tea for a change all evening yesterday.

WIP: Hibernating Handbag

2009-03-15T18:32:00.003+01:00

The handbag is almost done now, but since I have already packed everything for my move to England, the bag had to go into the suitcase as well. Once I've settled, I shall block the bag, sew the lining and add the handles. That is all that's left to be done and I am looking forward to completing it.

The heart-shape cushion is suffering an even worse fate because I can't take it with me at all for now. I am hoping it will be sent to me soon. It's a pity that I don't have a larger suitcase - though mine is already big enough and I have difficulty lifting it. The rest of my knitting is packed except for my two knitting books, which I just can't fit in anywhere and are simply too heavy anyway.

Not Without My Handbag

2009-03-11T21:50:00.004+01:00

The hairdresser may have ruined my hair, but at least I can take my mind off it by knitting this wonderful handbag. Yes, even though the pattern is from The Knitter's cushion covers featured in issue 1, I decided to turn it into a handbag instead. Since I still have the handles that were included in the knitting set Mark's mum sent me and I never knew what on earth to do with this fuchsia cotton yarn, this has turned out to be the perfect project for both.

At first it took me ages to knit only a few rows, especially because the bobbles took a long time to do. By now, however, the knitting is easier and quite a bit faster so that I may well finish the bag before my move to England, which I never expected. This is my first project from The Knitter and I am looking forward to trying some more at a later date.

The bag is looking very good so far, but I shall probably have to block t a little bit since the corners seem a bit curly. I am not sure this yarn will block easily, but I shall give it a try anyway.

A Short Woodland Journey

2009-03-06T18:02:00.002+01:00

Well, that was nice, if all too brief. It turns out I had less yarn than I thought, which resulted in an extremely short Woodland shawl that I can just about wrap around my neck. It is a good think it is so wide, which makes it a comfortable wear. I love it though: the pattern design is beautiful and just the kind of leafy lace I like. At a later point I would like to knit the shawl again in a lightly variegated thicker yarn.

Materials:

some leftover Merino extrafein from the Hamburger Wollfabrik, colourway 610 (burgundy)
4 mm circs
row counter
tapestry needle
wire, pins and grandma's sofa for blocking

I had feared that the pattern may not come out as well as it did in the end. It is the lightest, laciest Woodland I have seen so far and I am very happy with its look after blocking. Mind you, even before blocking it looked lovely! After only two lace shawls I definitely know I really enjoy knitting these fine projects...

... though you wouldn't know it judging from my face (it's been a horrible week).

At Mr Jones' for the Last Time

2009-02-25T20:49:00.007+01:00

It's been a wonderful time with my local knitting group every month and it is a pity I only found them a few months ago. Today's get-together was very probably my last one since I plan to move to England before the end of next month. So this day was a chance to see everyone one final time and say goodbye in person instead of via the interweb.

Unfortunately, I arrived two hours later than scheduled, which left me with very little time. I also met a university friend there and left the group to chat to her about her PhD studies. In the end the first people left just before I got back to the group again, which is a pity, really. Still it was much better to have been there at all than to not have seen anyone before leaving the country.

A lot of socks were being knit in my corner and I was able to take a look at Nina's patten book of lace shawls. She has chosen a very beautiful pattern to work with that I thought was the best of all the featured ones. A large section of it consists of a leaf pattern that I liked especially, and it had one of the nups many of the other shawls had. After knitting my Swallowtail I have had enough of nups for now. It's not that I mind knitting them, but I only like looking at them if there aren't too many in one piece.

You can tell that the days are getting longer again because we don't end up knitting in the dark anymore. We had good light and left just as it got dark. There was a brief discussion about possible new times for meetings that I couldn't contribute to since it no longer concerns me, of course. I will be interested to see what they decide. I hope to come back again if I get the chance when I come over on holiday in the future. It would be lovely to meet up again and knit and chat as we have done in the past.

Even though German Rail was on strike again today it didn't look as if anyone had trouble getting here this time. I only heard about it shortly before I was about to leave this afternoon, but my line is so unimportant that it has never been one of the problematic ones, luckily. Apparently, though, Irmi had some issues with the buses instead. We all managed to arrive more of less on time, though, so all was well and I am sure everyone had a very good time as always.

Of course my entry cannot be complete without a mention of food and beverages at Mr Jones. This time I treated myself to a chocolate milkshake - I asked about the milkshake's ingredients first which, depending on which waiter you get, may turn out completely different. Today I got the one I wanted, with extra chocolate syrup which gives it that nice dark shade that I liked the first time I had it there. Believe it or not, I preferred it to my beloved Bailey's milkshake this time. Shocking, I know. Since I had to eat out I also ordered the mozzarella sticks with fries (instead of the potato sticks that are usually too greasy for me). They were very good and came with a nice salad as well. I always find it hard to choose something to eat because, even though it all sounds great, the food can often be a bit underwhelming. The drinks are far better.

Yesterday I started a new shawl called Woodland (Ravelry) that I have had in my list of favourites for some time now. I want to use up my last bit of merino lace yarn and since I have a whole lot of it I needed a large project. I cast on the recommended 89 sts and now wish I'd done more than that. However, it will stretch well when blocking, so it is hard to tell exactly how big it will be. I really love leaf patterns, so this is just right. At first I'd wanted to use a similar pattern from The Knitter's second issue, but it seemed too simple and uninteresting in comparison. Woodland is just a little different and I wouldn't even mind leaving it unblocked due to the nice texture.

I am hoping that it will not be completely lost when I do block it in the end. It would be a shame. I could also imagine knitting this pattern with a thicker yarn that will bring it out even better, actually. This may be something to keep in mind for future gifts, perhaps.

Mix n Match - Ready to Wear

2009-02-22T19:22:00.004+01:00

Material:

leftover Noro Kureyon (S185), Lana Grossa Meilenweit 100 Bosco (3519), and Schachenmayr nomotta Regia (54)
2.5mm DPNs
row counter just in case
tapestry needle

These are very nice to wear, especially because they are so colourful. They were made to fit my size EU 39 feet, but they could also be worn by someone with 40, perhaps even a size larger than that because they are very stretchy, to my surprise. I know that I will probably not knit striped socks again very soon becauseI hated alternating yarns. It was hard to not get holes into the socks with each colour change.

These are your basic socks, knit as simple as possible. I'll post my notes here so that I remember what exactly I did.

Notes:

CO 8 sts
increase till 60 sts
38 rows till gusset increase
26 rows gusset increase
work heel decrease over 30 sts: WS: sl1, p to last 3 sts, p2tog, p1; RS: sl1, k to last 3 sts, ssk, k1. Reapeat both rows till 14 sts are left
pick up 9 sts each side
knit sole and ktbl gusset sts; connect heel and rest of sock (ssk/p2tog); continue decrease till back to 60 sts in total
38 rows for the cuff
10 rows k1, p1 ribbing
BO loosely

Abso-knitting-lutely!

My First Supported Spindle

Tools of the Trade

Definition of NIDDY NODDY

Origin of NIDDY NODDY

So Much Spinning

Eric's Jumper

Hand-dyed: Raspberry Sorbet

Sock Yarn: Gemüsebeet

Swift Ballwinding

Hand-dyed: Confetti

Experimental Dyeing

Happy New Year

I Would Play That Game

Book: Abby Franquemont, Respect the Spindle

Being a Busy Bee

Woodland Hoodlet

Swedish Fish Socks - Completed

That's Much Better

Fountain Hat

Win!

Trying Ebay

Shroom

Margaret Atwood Knits

Fish and a Wrap

The Big Knit 2011

Refuge Blanket Squares

My First Jumper

Fun with Numbers

Arm-knitting a Cowl

A Challenge

Spinning Video

Fibre Fest 2011

Heart-shaped Pom Poms?

Bachforelle Reloaded

Whoops!

New Stitchmarkers For Sale

Book: Big Girl Knits

Second Plyed Yarn

Fimo Mania

First Plyed Yarn

Another Gift

Fimo Fun

RAK: Surprise Package

Result

Dying Lace

Another RAK and Another Stole

German RAKers Are the Greatest

Bachforelle: First Picture

When There's Nothing Else to Do

RAK Stitchmarkers

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby, Right Round

New Bag! New Badge!

Photo Update

FO: Print o' the Wave

Print o' the Wave - Ready for Blocking

Knit Happens

Time for a Change

Stitchmarker Mania

Better Late than Never

A Day of Gifts

Slow Progress

Prismatic II - Déjà Vu

A Day of Random Acts of Kindness

Knit Club @ Wool Bath

Progress and Further Projects

A Maritime Theme

WIP: Print o' the Wave and a New Project

It's Easter Time

Fyberspates Yarn and an Annoying Stole

Pat

Jaywalker Socks

Review: Knit Your Own Royal Wedding (Fiona Goble)

Competition Win!

Kai-Mei - Done (ish)!

Day of Fails

WANTS!!!!!!!!11111eleventyone

Kai-Mei in Progress, the Knitting Club, and a Bear in a Bag

Mojo 2 and Happy Feet

Mojos for the Bin