Tuesday, 24 June 2008

Crochet Captivation

OK this is getting silly. My entire life is being taken over by crocheting small items for craft fairs.

I'm crocheting in every spare second and the rest of the time I'm thinking about colours, designs, etc. I've bought a huge bag full of Patons 100% Cotton 4ply - 1 ball of as many colours as I could afford at the time. I've now printed out a shadechart for it so I can see which ones I have left to buy...

The scary thing is I'm loving it.

I settled on the Patons Cotton 4ply because it's fantastic stuff - great sheen, huge yardage, affordable, and good range of colours. Plus I can get it from a LYS - I'm still supporting them even if they are closing down soon. (Boo hoo - I would love to buy the business from them as they're retiring but there's not a chance.)

The event I'm aiming for is the
Llama Lland Open Day on 6th July. We went last year and it was a popular family event, so I've focused on small items that may be more appealing as they won't cost much money to buy. Keep your fingers crossed for good weather - and if you're in the area, come along!

Whatever's left after that will be listed in my Etsy shop - I really have no idea how much there will be. Here's the tally so far:
7 crochet bookmarks
12 crochet hairbands/chokers - some beaded
2 crochet beaded pots
5 beaded necklaces - 1 crocheted
12 pairs of bead earrings - including llama bead ones!

Right, time for more crocheting...

Thursday, 19 June 2008

WWKIP - Truro

What a wonderful day!

We met in the Piazza in
Lemon Quay in the centre of Truro, and had a wonderful backdrop of flags and masts as we sat alongside the Cornwall Boat Show.

There was a good sized group of knitters, with people coming and going throughout the day. I met loads of knitters from
Ravelry - hi all of you!

I also met a knitter local to Perranporth (our nearest place) and we're hoping to meet up and maybe even get a group going - finally!

Julia from Knit Wits at Penzance with the record-breaking needles turned up - complete with needles, yarn, and Guinnes Book of Records certificate. A truly amazing sight.

The weather held up for us, with only one shower during the whole day. We took refuge under the huge umbrellas covering the Hall for Cornwall's outside coffee area - well it was time for a delicious chunk of carrot cake and a latte anyway. ;-)

The lady from The Natural Fibre Company in Launceston was also there with a sack of their fabulous yarn. She very kindly gave everyone the opportunity to select a free 50g ball of the yarn as a taster. A very good way to get some new customers! I chose the "Pure 50/50 Alpaca & Shetland Wool" which is beautifully soft. I have no idea what I'll be making with it yet though.

The event was thoroughly enjoyed by all - hopefully we'll meet up again soon.

Sunday, 8 June 2008

Unexpected guest

It still surprises me that wetsuits feature regularly on our washing line nowadays, but this weekend we had another surprise - an unexpected guest.

On the wetsuit was a bright green stick insect!

Apparently there are a few colonies of them here in the South West of England. Amazing..!

Fantastic weekend btw - great weather = much relaxing on the beach, bodyboarding, new shoes, and a family bbq! Perfect. :-)

Thursday, 5 June 2008

Trivia and oddments

There's not been much sign of any knitting going on around here recently has there? In fact not much of anything. But you know how it goes: less blogging = more doing usually.

The back of the soya cardigan is finished - and you didn't even know it was started. The yarn is Sirdar "Just Soya" in shade "Hot Pepper".
It's beautifully soft, but very splitty and it has a slight haze already from handling the knitting. We'll have to see what the pillability factor turns out to be!
I've also found that every ball so far has had a join in it somewhere - annoying for a full price yarn.

The bamboo top and beachcomber tunic have both stalled at the seaming gate. I just haven't felt like doing either of them, and seaming is definitely something requiring the right frame of mind in my experience.

Instead I've been busy making frivolities - small items for the summer run of craft fairs and summer fetes.
You've seen some of the beaded jewellery and hairbands; those are now in the West Midlands for a while. Others are currently in my Etsy shop - go
take a look!

As a result of that all my recent purchases have been either beads, jewellery findings, or oddments of mercerised cotton yarns. If anyone has any they want to clear out - shout up!

Saturday, 31 May 2008

Knowing me, knowing you

There you go - a fact about me that's not in this tag: I love Abba songs, although they remind me of my parents' divorce, as that's when I heard them most!

Anyway,
CraftyPeach has tagged me, so here we go:

1. What was I doing ten years ago?
Let me see, May/June 1998 - I was 2 months pregnant with my first daughter, working at the University of Wolverhampton, and also finishing off my Masters degree in Advanced Software Technology there. Wow, how life has changed!

2. What are 5 things on your to-do list today?
- Find the paper copy of my driving license - not done yet. Why do organisations keep requesting to see the part which doesn't have your photo on as proof of ID? I just don't get it!
- Have a picnic lunch at the beach - done! A distinct lack of sun, although it was mild enough.
- Take youngest DD to a friend's fancy dress party - done (DD went as a red indian squaw, complete with fringed dress, face paints, and feather in her headband) and thoroughly enjoyed by all. :-)
- Get more laundry done after our visit up-country earlier in the week - done. How does laundry multiply so much when you go away for just a few days?
- Get an early night. Hmm, that one's debatable!

3. What are your favorite things to snack on?
Definitely oatcakes, then nuts (brazils and almonds), olives, cheese, raw carrot sticks, celery, the new Walkers crisps called
SunBites - delish!

4. Where are some places you've lived?
Various places in the West Midlands of England, and now Cornwall. I guess I'm a home bird!

5. What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Do charity work during school hours, and spend the rest of the time with my daughters. Make regular donations to worthy causes. Buy DH the car of his dreams. Pay to have all our extension done right now. Always stay in the best hotels when visiting family and friends - our recent trip and hotel-stay was SOOOO lovely and relaxing.

6. What jobs have you done?
Saturday shop assistant, computer games programmer, software developer, systems analyst, business analyst - can you see a theme?!

7. Which other people would you like to know more about?
Your turn -
Alison, PurlPower, ScarletPrincess, and Iris. :-)

Wednesday, 21 May 2008

Photo frenzy

Well we're heading back to full health just as DH gets the sickness bug. He doesn't seem too bad though - luckily he doesn't suffer from man-flu. ;-) Hopefully he'll be over it before we head up-country to visit my relatives for a few days from this Friday.

Anyway, as promised, a photo frenzy follows. There - you have been warned!

Firstly the beaded jewellery:
Purple Slice

Lime Sprinkles

Fruit Drop

Then the crochet hairbands:

Zigzag hairband
Wave hairband
Bubble hairband
Spiderweb hairband

And finally the beautiful calla lilies in our front garden right now.

That's the lot for now. More when we get back next week!

Friday, 16 May 2008

Cornish bugs

Youngest DD and me have been poorly girls this week. Not the greatest way I can think of for me to lose weight, but effective enough.

We're over the main effects now, but we can't find things that we're enjoying to eat. Weird. Chocolate? Nope. Fruit? No way. Plain biscuits? Still too sweet.

It seems that our bodies are crying out for plain carbohydrates; bread, toast, potatoes (in any form) are all going down fine - as long as there are no sweet flavours with them.

As for drinks, well it seems to be water, water, or more water. I've tried a decaff now and again but it just doesn't feel right. Fennel or mint tea to soothe the digestion are fine until the stomach acid hits afterwards. Very strange. Still, at least we've not had it as bad as blueadt - I guess this bug is hitting nationwide.

Watch for some crochet FOs as soon as I get the energy to get the camera out...

Monday, 12 May 2008

What to do?

Don't you just loathe those days at work when there's little to do?

You've recovered from the last manic phase and now you're waiting for other people to do their bit before the next wave of hysterical deadlines hits. Yet you still have to sit there, unable to find anything to make the day pass at more than a snail's pace.

You've tidied up all your email folders in Outlook and deleted all the temporary folders and files in "My Documents". You've got rid of the icons you don't use from your computer's desktop. Your desk is amazingly clear as you've sorted through and filed away all those piles of papers from a couple of months back. You've even blown the bits out of your keyboard. Eugh - how disgusting was that?!

You started eating your packed lunch at 9:15am and by 10:45am it's all gone. No matter how often you open that allocated food drawer for the rest of today nothing else magically appears inside. Unless you go shopping at lunchtime and buy another lunch and a mountain of goodies to last the afternoon.

If you drink any more tea/coffee/water you'll burst. You've filled up the office kettle and cleaned up the spilled sugar, dissolved coffee granules, and used tea bags around it. You've washed up the mugs and spoons left in the sink, and taken out the empty milk bottles.

Knitting or crochet is obviously out of the question, as you're blatantly not working. Web surfing is forbidden unless you want to spend all day reading about other people's work on the intranet. Crafty sites are a no-no thanks to the core-hours web monitoring and subsequent
wrist-slapping for spending too much network resource accessing non-work-related materials.


You've discussed last weekend's activities and next weekend's plans with your colleagues. You've printed out a world map and passed it around the office marking off where everyone's visited. You've stared out of the window lamenting how glorious it looks out there whilst you're stuck in here. And it's still only 10 minutes later. Has your watch gone backwards since you last checked it?

You've tidied out your handbag, so at least the cleaner's got a bin to empty now. You've synchronised all the important (birthday/anniversary/holiday) dates between your Outlook calendar and paper diary, and worked out how long it's been since your last haircut. You've made a list of all the cards and presents you need to buy in the next 3 months. You've started a Christmas spreadsheet with gift ideas for all your cousins and their families, but now you need to do some web-window-shopping to get more inspiration - but it's not lunchtime
yet.


Reading anything interesting is almost impossible if your boss shares or visits your office. You can guarantee that they'll need to speak to you the moment you open the latest issue of Interweave Knits, and it's just too big to fit inside the covers of "Computer Weekly" now that the compact version is out. Or you'll get so engrossed in the latest Harmony stitch guide from Erika Knight that you won't notice them lurking by your side until they clear their throat, then you'll slam your fingers in the book and go red with embarrassment and pain.

So all that's left is to dream of the week's worth of knitting you want to get done that evening and compile a blog entry to email to yourself during that long-awaited lunch break. Now for the afternoon.

Tuesday, 6 May 2008

Busy beading

I got the beading bug this evening.

This is the "Fresh" necklace; a double strand of lime green wire with glass beads in zingy spring fresh shades of turquoise, lime, and very pale lilac, with a lobster clasp fastening.

This one is the "Blue Lagoon" necklace: 2 strands of turqoise and lime beading cord with glass beads and a shell disc in similar colours knotted along it, with a lobster clasp fastening.

Look out for them on sale in my Etsy shop soon!

The garden has been busy too.

This miniature azalea in a pot by our front door has never bloomed this well before. I guess it likes living further south. :-)

This lilac is doomed to go when we have our extension built. It's a beautiful colour but very old and woody, so we're enjoying it at it's best. Along with that fantastic blue sky. :-)

Just about 2 miles in that direction is Perranporth beach, where we spent a good deal of the weekend once the sea mist had cleared. The tans have commenced!

Sunday, 4 May 2008

Playing around

This week has flown past, mainly due to a poorly DD (better now thankfully). Lack of sleep really saps the days.

Last night I dabbled with some crochet necklaces.
First this one from a free pattern at Berroco. Hmm, not bad, but I don't think it would be really wearable in that yarn.

Next I had a go at a pendant necklace using a dichroic glass pendant purchased from ebay.

I crocheted the strap using some weird metallic bound wire-like cord stuff that I bought from the Knitting Show at the NEC a few years back. Why I didn't ask what it was I'll never know!

If you recognise it please tell me what it is called.

Still playing around with different designs and materials. More to show soon!

Tuesday, 29 April 2008

The knitters friend

Films are a knitter's friend. Especially when the knitter is producing endless amounts of stocking stitch, like sleeves.
We watched a good film (but not so good I couldn't drag my eyes away) at the weekend - and I ended up knitting and crocheting the second sleeve of the Beachcomber Tunic in record time.
I'm now on the lower crochet half of the front. The finish line is in sight!

The Beachcomber Tunic is too big to be easily portable now, so I have a new work lunchtime project - my first pair of commissioned socks!
Instead of cash payment I'm bartering services with the recipient. I'm getting a big jar of chilli olives in return for the knitting, and of course the recipient has paid for the wool.
I'm using the same
Irish Wellington Socks free pattern, with the Big Fabel yarn in the green colourway - as chosen by the recipient. Very nice it is too.

I also managed to summon up the energy and enthusiasm to tidy up our building site back garden a little at the weekend. I planted some violas and pot-bound plants, so we should have some flowers soon.
Just look at the garlic! Hopefully I'll be able to dry those off and start eating them soon too - yum. :-)
Hanging baskets are next. We will have colour!

Thursday, 24 April 2008

Stocking up

I mentioned a few purchases last time didn't I? Well they've been trickling in ever since:

Firstly there is a small package of 4 balls of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran from the sale at Stash.

They are a gorgeous salmon shade, intended for a
Baby Shrug as a Christmas present for my new niece Sara.

I know it's a little ahead of time, but there's nothing like being organised. And anyway I wanted to buy some more stash. ;-)

Since they arrived though, I realised that they match a dress of my youngest DD's perfectly - the only dress that we don't have any cardigans that match at the moment. So I may have to buy some more...

Next up is an ebay bargain that I shouldn't have bought really but couldn't resist.

It's 500g of Lana Grossa Pina yarn which is 100% viscose. I love viscose, and it only cost me £5.50 plus postage. The colour isn't ideal for me, and I have no idea what I will make with it, but the price meant I had to have it!

Finally (for now) is a parcel from Web of Wool. It's the Panda Cotton sock yarn - 2 skeins of Chocolate Almond and 2 skeins of Strawberry Lime. Who could resist colours like that?!

I had to try it, and seem to be getting more into knitting socks - or at least buying the yarn. Plus it's a bamboo/cotton blend - my favourite right now.

I have been knitting some of the newer stash too. My enthusiasm was waning for the Beachcomber Tunic so I decided to make my welly socks!

They only took a few days to knit - chunky and easy. I followed the
Irish Wellington Socks pattern using the 200g of the Garnstudio Big Fabel yarn in the red/orange colourway on size 4.5mm needles.

I guess it's back to the Beachcomber Tunic now!

Monday, 14 April 2008

Playing catch-up

Oh, hi there! I'm still here - life just took over for a while. So, lots of news:

Baby SaraI have a new niece! Sara was born on 3rd April, weighing in at 6lb 10oz. I'm saving up lots of special auntie cuddles for her until we next go up country to visit. :-)

I've also had some of my family come to visit - for the first time since we
moved to Cornwall!
My dad and step-mom flew over from Alicante and we collected them from
Newquay Airport - so handy. They stayed with us for 2 nights then flew on to Glasgow to visit other relatives.
We visited
Falmouth (my dad loves boats) and had dinner back in Perranporth at the Watering Hole - absolutely gorgeous food including warm goat's cheese on a roasted red pepper and rocket salad with crushed new potatoes - mmmm!

Beachcomber Tunic sleeveOn the knitting front, I've been progressing slowly with the Beachcomber Tunic.


This is getting to the tedious stage now, as I've done nothing else for 3 weeks. I do still love it though, and finally feel like I'm getting to the home straight.

Just one more sleeve to go, then the crochet part of the front and the seaming. Shouldn't take too much longer!

Big Fabel yarn stashAdmittedly I have succumbed to stash enhancement to relieve my WIP frustration.


Here is the latest to be ordered - and the first to arrive, from Scandanavian Knitting Design.

There is 200g of aran-weight Big Fabel sock wool in reds for a pair of socks for me, 200g of the same wool in greens for a pair of walking socks for a work colleague (he's making us some chilli olives as a trade!), and 50g of Muskat mercersised cotton in black for another colleague to crochet a phone cover with.


More on the way from various sources!

Thursday, 3 April 2008

Working down the list

I wasn't too enthralled with Ravelry to start with. It seemed like an awful lot of work to log details of all my stash, needles, hooks, books,magazines, FOs, and WIPs. I'm still a very long way off; I'll probably never get it all in there.

Since then I've wandered around the site for a few hours, and it's grown on me like ivy up a wall! I'm finding it fascinating and inspiring to look at how others have used the same yarn, to read notes regarding patterns on my waiting list, to discover new patterns for an old stashed yarn, and so on.

I still haven't found a local knitting or crochet group, but then I guess you can't have everything.

It's also finally given me the incentive to actually work through my project waiting list and ridiculous amount of stash. After all that IS the point of buying the yarn... isn't it?!

As for the current WIPS:

Beachcomber Tunic: progressing daily.
(The colours don't really change like that - I took the photo with my mobile at work!)

I've done the 3-needle cast-off to seam both shoulders. I'm now working on the lower back - the crocheted part.
The pattern is easy enough, but takes a while to do a repeat thanks to all the double treble clusters. I really love the effect though.
Fingers crossed that it ends up looking and feeling good when I wear it!

Bamboo Top: on hold.
I just have to seam this and oversew all ends with needle and thread as the lovely bamboo yarn is slippy. I need some warm weather to inspire me!

And finally a FO - a new member of the family! DH's cousin gave birth to a beautiful 6lb 2oz daughter Aimee Louise at the weekend. Well done Karen! That means that the Lucy cardigan should be in use soon. :-)

Saturday, 29 March 2008

Birthday Time!

My youngest DD is 7 years old today!

Here she is on her go-kart that we bought for her. As you can see it's a great hit!

I'm so proud of my little girl. She's been through a lot of changes during the last 12 months, and she's taken it all in her stride. Now she's calmer and happier, doing really well at school, and loving life by the seaside.

She's showing a real flair for words - spelling and useage, adores animals - hence the party at the zoo today, can't resist a challenge, and loves drumming. She's so like her Dad!

Happy Birthday sweetheart.

Tuesday, 25 March 2008

New loves

Knitting makes me so fickle. As soon as I decide on a new project, I see yet more fantastic yarn and designs to lead me astray. Oh well, such is the crafter's life.

This Sirdar Just Soya yarn in shade "Hot Pepper" led me astray when I found it on the
Black Sheep Wools website. Together with the accompanying 15-pattern booklet, I couldn't resist.

This is the particular design that I'm going to make - first. I'm sure I'll be buying more of this yarn to make some of the other designs too; many of them come in womens and girls sizes, which my DDs are VERY impressed with.

They've already shown me several that they like. I guess I'd better get them knitting soon!

In the meantime, this is the project I had started whilst waiting for the Just Soya to arrive.

It's the
Beachcomber Tunic from Interweave Crochet Spring 2007, and somehow I managed to buy exactly the right yarn from ebay a while back - total fluke. That's Garnstudio's Silke-Tweed in "Rose" - a lovely dusky pink shade.

This is the pattern that inspired me to take out a year's subscription to Interweave Crochet - not something I tend to do much.

This piece is the right front - which I've now frogged and re-knitted. Here we go again! I'd already modified the neckline and edging as I didn't like the way it stuck out by the throat. Sound familiar?!

Anyway I ended up re-knitting it as I wanted it to be longer. The bottom half of the front is crocheted, and at the original length the dividing line would have cut across my boob - not a good look. ;-)

So now it's longer, and also has a friend - the left front, which is finished to match. The corresponding back is in progress as you read..


BTW, we escaped the snow of course. We did see a little snow fall, but it melted as it touched the ground. We were in Falmouth at the time, enjoying a leisurely walk around the harbour and shops on Easter Monday. Ah, life is hard in Cornwall. ;-)

Saturday, 22 March 2008

Cosy toes

Presenting... the Tidal Wave socks.

Knitted in Hipknits cashmere sock-weight yarn using a 2.5mm Addi circular needle.

Easy peasy, comfy and quick. Never thought I'd say that about knitting socks. Just goes to show what you can learn.

Now I just need to make some of those sock blockers - hmm, should I go for the
plastic or hanging type? Maybe both! :-)

In the meantime, here are the socks in action.

And believe me they're going to get plenty of that. ;-)


(P.S. The ballet was wonderful and much enjoyed!)

Saturday, 15 March 2008

Culture and Cashmere

Look - I have a cashmere Tidal Wave sock! Just the one so far though.

There won't be much knitting today as I'm having a cultural day - I'm taking my DDs out for dinner and to see the Snow Queen ballet in Truro.

DH wasn't so keen, so he's going to the pub with a friend. ;-)

Look what I received yesterday! A gorgeous skein of Bamboo sock yarn from YarnAddictAnni. I'm looking forward to casting on with this soon - possibly for a pair of the infamous Monkey socks.

I also received my Amazon parcel including Norah Gauhan's "Knitting Nature" - I've had a bit of a splurge as I resisted any knitterly purchases for about 3 months.


The last acquisition for yesterday was "Fabulous Flirty Crochet" from the library. I'd reserved it and they sent it over from St Austell library to Perranporth for me, for just 50p. What a great service!

Thursday, 13 March 2008

Spring Inspiration

Thanks for the neckline shaping ideas. I'm going to let it stew for a while, as I'm not sure which way to go yet. I may even frog the lot!

In the meantime, have you seen the latest
Knitty? Oooooh dear. Lots more inspiration. So much that it's going to induce a knitted stutter. Know what I mean? No? Well, if you talk too fast for your brain to handle, you stutter (this is my interpretation for this topic, so don't quote me on the medical analysis!). Well my brain is clocking up new projects-in-waiting far too fast for my hands to cope with. Hence the knitting stutter. ;-)

I know that both DDs would love the Emma's but I'm not sure they wouldn't be too heavy and start to sag. Instead I'm tempted to go for the Charm Shrug. I have 7 balls of All Seasons Cotton left, so I might try swatching that.

As for me, I love Yosemite, Jaden, Marjorie, and Honeycomb - in that order. Plus I have masses of cotton in my stash that would be suitable for both Yosemite and Jaden I'm sure. Very tempting...