Sunday 27 October 2013

Keep Calm and Keep Winding ...

keep calm and keep winding .. FASTER and DON'T STOP ..
I borrowed my knit-pal-Brenda's nifty gadget of a swift and ball winder to wind the hanks of alpaca colour I am using for Buckland after seeing her demonstrating it to wind another ball for a pal - MUCH quicker than by hand!
It took me a few goes to get the hang of it and I had a few disasters along the way with things flying off, tangling and collapsing but eventually I learned that you just keep calm and keep winding and don't stop for anything!!
After 45mins all THIS was wound and sitting prettily in varying stages of neat balls:

At the weekend my knit-pal and I went to the locally held last minute Stitch Up Event at Stitch Solihull, Notcutts and we both bought a couple of hat patterns including the lovely mystery KAL 2013 Woolly Wormhead hat which promises to be good.

I am hat MAD at the moment and poor Pretty got a huge soaking last night after her first outing to town ended with a terrific downpour.
Our no.2.son had expressed a desire to go to the Museum & Art Gallery and visit the new library in town and we made an afternoon of it enjoying a cup of tea and cake at the scrummy Rep Cafe before finding a nice place to eat at the nearby Mailbox.  The only thing that spoiled the day was the rain which soaked us completely through for the walk back from bus stop!

Other wool that got bought included a nice grey from Babylonglegs - Semi Precious dk in Granite to knit Limpetiole, the Fyberspates Vivacious DK in Peacock is for the mystery hat.





Friday 25 October 2013

Monday 21 October 2013

"Pretty" is finished


"Pretty" is finished bar sewing up the back seam!   I have posted the two photo's because actually the colour is more accurate in my WIP photo - its a nice dark colour and not a washed out one but I think its the dull wet day we're having and I have two bulbs out in my light too - not the best conditions for taking photographs but I wanted to share the finished project today while I had chance.

Dingle is finished and Buckland is OTN's!

"Dingle" is finished! at last, I started it in March and put it down over the summer as I went "off" knitting a bit and found myself at the bottom of a bottle of gin mostly but now I am back to knitting with a renewed energy!  I finished off the ends and buttons over the weekend and promise to take a better photo of me wearing it maybe - soon - when I can get someone to oblige by taking a photograph.  It looks a bit like a dish rag above, its nicer in real life and the cotton is lovely I'd knit with it again!  I omitted the faux pocket flaps but have plenty of yarn left so might do them - not sure yet.

Newly OTN's this weekend is "Buckland".  I CO and started it watching X-Factor and so far so good - its lovely alpaca to knit and too soon yet to see the colour shading but it promises to be a cosy knit.  It took me a few minutes to get used to the difference from the cotton but my needles are gliding now!

I've spent the last week with a raging sore throat and flu/cold symptoms and have now got a headache and shivery feeling but seem to have got over the worst - I don't know whether to blame the flu jab I had or believe the Nurse thats its a coincidence.  Either way I still feel under the weather but looking forward to the weekend.  We were going to Fibre Flurry, but as thats been cancelled we're off to Stitch Solihull's "stitch up" instead (love the name they've given it but not brave enough to comment on it on Ravelry - he-he!!)  should be a fun day out and looking forward to seeing lots of socks and hats both of which I'm keen on.
I shall report on that next week no doubt with a hat/yarn purchase to show off too.

Sunday 13 October 2013

knitting projects - success and failure!

SUCCESS! I finally finished my gloves, and I knit a hat!
FAIL FAIL FAIL ... in my plan for resolving to knit only one or two projects at a time as per setting of New Year Resolutions.  bah!  I wouldn't mind but I've nearly got to the end of the year and I've gone mad and had a fit of caston-itis to spoil my whole year!


First to be finished is a quick and simple hat - Nova - knit in Rowan's Thick'n'thin yarn there is a mistake, the pattern requires two balls of yarn and this is on the page on Rowan's website.  Nice and cosy this will keep my head warm!

OTN's is a lovely hat, Pretty, which is knit in the yummy scrummy Angora Haze from Kim Hargreaves' book - Smoulder.  I'm enjoying knitting this and its good practise as I have this yarn for a jumper next to go onto my needles!  I've gone hat-mad at the minute!

I love knitting gloves and mitts almost as much as socks, and in some ways its more useful to knit gloves and this week I finally finished my 5-in-1 adventure gloves but I've yet to take a photograph, and I started a second pair of Autumnal Mitts in felted tweed :

I signed up too to another Craftsy class - the blocking one and am half way through it and enjoying it, I have the seaming garments in my wishlist and am waiting for an opportunity to download and watch that one soon. 
I learned to knit at Grandma's knee as a small girl and have pretty much knitted off and on all my life and yet I still feel there is more I don't know or have to find out about knitting than I DO know but thats the fun and the pleasure of knitting!?
Someone asked what was the "point" of knitting socks - after 40 mins her head nodded and her eyes glazed - I could go on about knitting until the cows come in!  (and frequently do!)  This is why I like the knitting clubs and forums like Ravelry - you get to talk about knitting to other like minded friends and I've made some super friends through my knitting too so it has been very good to me throughout my life.  I hope others get as much out of it as I do!