Of things to come...

I thought I would be a bit mean and do a Brooklyn Tweed style taster shot of things to come (not that I'm in the same league of course!!!) of what I've been working on and the yarns I've been working with...

Item 1:

Item 2:

More at a later date ;o)

The Shame of it....

not blogging for the last few weeks that is, I've really no excuse for not posting, it isn't as I've been sitting on my hands since my last post... I just couldn't seem to motivate myself to blog :o( anyway rather than do a massive post with what I've been doing and buying... I thought I'd start with a small post and not over tax myself and set blogging progress back!!!

So we'll start with the knitting that keeps me sane and just gets picked up and put down as I feel without guilt... the socks....

I completed these for my friend Mike's birthday at the end of August; there a rather nice denim blue colour and are Opal Fantasie 1912. As always with Mike + Socks they went down well, as apart from myself & DH, Mike is the biggest beneficiary of my sock knitting and to quote him the other day "I can't remember the last time I wore shop bought socks"... this is the type of friend a knitter should have ;o)

Days later off the DPN's came these Regia Galaxy 1557 (Ocean) these are for SIL for her birthday in October... I am being organised this year!!!

Now despite being nearly finished this is my 1st ever toe-up sock so just to prove it's toe up I thought I'd take it's photo on the needles.... I've been after trying to do one of these for ages, in fact probably since the beginning of the year but I just couldn't master the Turkish Cast On until through a blog of a blog I came across this post by FluffyKnitterDeb which just made the light bulb click on for me with this cast on....

I really wanted to do a toe up not just to add to my repertoire of skills but because the yarn is my own hand spun Superwash BFL "Splash" from Natalie of the The Yarn Yard. I've already knit a pair of socks from my hand spun and sweated all the way from top to toe so I was determined that as I'd spun the yarn into two balls for two socks I was going to do a toe-up sock so at least as long as the foot was knit (Size 10) then the amount of yarn could determine the length of the leg... so I started with the smallest ball. I should have enough yarn left for another 3cm of rib....

And for the final sock round up this is the start of my 2nd pair of socks towards my Christmas knitting and is Trekking 84 - a very unimaginative name for a very pretty yarn with a very big pattern repeat but as this is only a size 4 you will not see all the patterns in one sock before the yarn repeats; if my memory serves me right there is only 2 full patterns repeats on a 100g ball with a 3rd partial repeat!!!

And finally to lace.... the Spring Things... I have to say I've not been inspired to knit this and the first section has been a labour and certainly not of love... I have plenty of handspun but I can't face doing anymore repeats of this first pattern to make the shawl bigger... I have 80g of yarn left and I started with 100g... so by the time it's finished I will probably have enough left for a Swallowtail or a Forest Canopy or some other simple shawl... I wish I'd taken the gamble now and done Laminaria with it!!! Ah well hindsight is a wonderful thing as they say...

I'm pleased with how my first handspun lace yarn is knitting up though... but the shawl isn't going to come out as big as the pattern stated, but never mind....

I will be back soon, with other my other yarn related exploits....

Finishing things off..

I'm still alive just really haven't had much to show this last week or so and TBH have been a bit lethargic, whether it's this lovely inclement weather we're having at the moment that's making me feel weary I don't know, but thought I'd better post before you thought I'd dropped off the face of the earth....

There has been no further progress on the Spring Things shawl with the hand spun, but there has been progress on the 2 new pairs of socks I'm knitting and I also started a 3rd pair with some hand spun after finally mastering the Turkish Cast On thanks to FluffyKnitterDeb's step-by-step instructions...

I have however, been finishing things off, which means making up in my language... I started doing some basic crocheting back in March.... as I'd seen a bag in Candi Jensen's book Crochet Bags! I liked entitled 'Granny's New Bag'... so did the crocheting and then it's sat there for 6 weeks while I decided how I wanted to line the thing... anyway Monday was a full day of finishing off things...

I'd also decided I was going to crochet a basket too despite disparaging looks from DH, even more so when I said I was going to put a lid on!!!! Oh ye of little faith ;o) The yarn is Spunky Eclectic 'Goblin Eyes' I had that I spun up ages ago and as it's Romney it's quite harsh so thought it would make something utilitarian... this I only finished on Sunday but it's been on the go quite awhile... can't quite remember exactly but if you go look at my projects in Ravelry you'll see the exact dates....

On the spinning front just a couple of purchases, this one from All Spun Up is Superwash merino... I'm being brave here as I usually don't go in for fibre with lots of white!!! it scares me... I did actually purchase this at the end of June so it's not a recent purchase...

and from The Yarn Yard I pre-ordered this back in June too and it came the 5th July just in time for the start of the Tour de France.... and it is the Tour de Fleece fibre a neutral and a contrast, which is actually 3 separate braids of colour.... I have started on the neutral, well in fact nearly finished it, 150g of superwash BFL....

and that as they say is about it for now....

Post Woolfest

I think it's safe to say that a good time was had by all at Woolfest. I certainly enjoyed myself being able to 'graze' the stalls and it was great to put faces to names of fellow Ravelry users.... so down to the nitty gritty as I'm not really in a blogging mood if you know what I mean... and lets face it everyone loves looking at 'purchases'....

From the The Yarn Yard we have from left to right on the back row... My June Fibre club "Chimnea" in Wensleydale, next to some Bonny sock yarn that DH chose himself (I banned blue!) and then a bfl & merino tencel batt, which has subsequently been spun up....

The pink roving is Shetland and my favourite green & grey is bfl superwash which I have named 'Grass between the cracks' as it reminds me of the fresh green grass growth creeping up between paving stones... sad I know ! Finally right at the front we have another braid of Wensleydale....

Then from Bluefaced.com I have 150g each of BFL superwash hand dyed (with what I don't know) and from Spindlers 2 some Bamboo & merino blend originally from Bonkers Fiber in 'Dragonfly'


Then from Wingham Wool Work we have a selection of British breeds for a project I'm hatching...;o) Theres Black Jacob, Mid Grey Cheviot, Light Grey Suffolk, Texel & Dorest Horn

and last but not least from Freyalyn's Fibres some 'Sock Stuff' a 20% nylon & 80% wool blend....both of these were chosen by DH, so not everything I bought was for me ;o)

Remember the 3 rovings I spun up well here is the resulting yarn 464m / 310g at 16wpi a little too thick for the project I had in mind and insufficient yardage and just a tad too busy as well... so it shall wait for better suited project!!! but it is colourful

on the sock knitting front pairs 48 & 49 of hand knit socks are complete... the Bosco are for a Christmas present and will someone please tell me if they've knit a pair of socks in this yarn and managed to get a pattern repeat because nowhere have I ever seen this yarn do a repeat pattern!!! but I did get the 2nd sock to match ;o)))


and the Hunderwasser 'Seeschlange' which were finished on Friday and as I type now are having their maiden airing... Mike is well pleased with them (he picked it) and I have to say they look a lot better on than off...

I have been spinning as well but the yarns are not ready for the debut photography sessions yet ;o)

Spinning 1st, Knitting 2nd

I know c@*p title but I'm not really very creative when it comes to writing, I was always terrible at English, especially when it came to writing stories.... Anyway all I mean is that I decided to write about spinning rather than knitting first, mainly because there's not much on the knitting front to talk about...

Remember these 3 Falkland Rovings from The Yarn Wench ?

Sweet Pearl 2

Last Tango 2
Songbird 1

Well they are now turned into this:

and awaiting plying.... I think the yarn is going to be very colourful, but I can't envisage it working out to knit the Polka-Dot Stole with, can you?

On the knitting front things are progressing, the socks are well on to both having a matching partner, that will be a relief to the recipients I'm sure, well if they knew they were the recipients ;o)

The Spring Things is progressing, but I'm still on the 1st pattern, so there's no point showing you a larger version of the last photograph from the last post.

Apart from my crocheted container, in which I am just going round and round.. and round, I have some Granny Squares which need making up into a bag, I have all the bits, but not the enthusiasm to make the bag!!! So if I can find some mojo from somewhere I might have some completed Items for my next post, but don't hold your breath....

Actual Progress with Photos!

There's quite a lot of photos in here so be warned/enjoy!

Mmm were to begin... knitting I think then if anyone doesn't want to read through the spinning bit at the end they can skip it or vice versa :o)

On the sock knitting front I've managed to complete a pair of socks in the last two weeks; for those of you before you're quick to point out they don't match, I know ;o) I quite often complete pairs of socks that don't match but fear not every sock gets it's matching partner in the end, it just may take a while....

We have a completed Hundertwasser on the left and a Lana Grossa Bosco on the right. I'm sad to say that the import of Lana Grossa into the UK will be / has ceased and therefore Get Knitted won't be getting there sock yarn anymore :o( I'm rather fond of their yarn and their range of patterns especially the Meetings pattern which is so classy I've knit it 4 times already and have a further 2 balls in my stash....

Anyway I digress this pattern is 'Bosco' I say pattern because LOOK it's a repeating pattern Aghhhh!!!!! I've never seen this happen in another ball of Bosco it comes out all mingley not a definite repeating pattern, have I got the only ball of Bosco that does this???

Now those of you who know me well and my sock knitting know that I like matching socks, should they be designed to match...

well after the initial Aghhh moment about 10cm into this sock when I realised what was happening I've carefully watched all the way to the end to see if I can work out were in the yarn I started as yes you guessed it, I hadn't made a note of were I started, I didn't need to this yarn doesn't pattern!

After much consideration as I headed towards the toe I realised I'd be finishing the toe more or less were I should be starting so I decided that I would use as little as possible to graft the toe and then start the 2nd sock immediately after, which I did. Hey Presto! they match yeahhhh!!!! in fact I'm about 1 row out but who cares I certainly don't as it's in the rib and apart from the bright yellow and orange band the rest of the colours are all mingley and dark so it doesn't show :o)))

Crisis averted and sanity restored well almost..... I know I have 2 knots to overcome in the 2nd sock of the Hundertwasser :oS

On the non-sock knitting front I have completed anothe pair of Marvelous Mitts. I was asked to knit a 2nd pair after the recipient of the 1st pair was thrilled with them and after showing them round her family a much loved Aunt expressed great interest in them. As it's her birthday at the end of June I agreed to knit her a pair... although this then posed me with a problem she's a size 9 glove :oS

Remembering back to Eunny's "Endpaper Mitts" were she used different needle sizes to produce different sized gloves I opted for a 3mm needle instead of the stated 2mm and they've come out just about right :o) without any struggling necessary to get them on or in fact blocking for that matter!

I used Rowan 4ply soft in 'Marine' for the MC and some leftover 'Desert Flower' in Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock for the CC... I'm pleased with them, but I still prefer my first pair in green and purple :o)

Next on the knitting front is some Lace.... I finally decided on the 'Spring Things' shawl to knit with my first hand spun lace... I opted for 3.75mm Addi Lace needles. I have to say it's slightly bigger than this now as I did a few repeats yesterday.... I'm feeling slightly smug as my yarn is nice to knit with and the colours are muted enough not to 'destroy' the pattern.... and surprisingly I haven't got board with the pattern, well yet!

OK on the spinning front... I finished the 'Blackberry' superwash merino from Freyalyn and managed 350m/100g... It's Navajo plied which I like for socks... I like the 'commercial' look to the yarn it produces... This will be off to it's new owner soon as it's a birthday present for a good friend....

On my wheel at the moment is some fibre from the Yarn Wench, Falkland to be precise. I love this fibre and find it easy to spin. I'm hoping to make sufficient yarn to do the Polka Dot Stole by Fiddlesticks for which the suggested yarn of Fiddlesticks Country Silk comes in at 800m / 250g... well I've got 300g of fibre so I'm in with a chance....

I'm also reducing my stash... well rather trying to 'manage' it so I'm using 3 different colourways of Falkland... this is the 2nd one I'm spinning for this 3ply, called "Last Tango 2" (I know country silk is a 2ply but I needed 300g and this was the easiest way to get the weight). It's also my first conscious attempt at spinning thicker singles, until now I've been working my way thinner and thinner... and whilst I have to concentrate more and refer to my 'control' sample a lot more I'm enjoying it....

This was the first one and is called "Sweet Pearl 2"

As you can see similar colours, the 3rd roving is similar in colour to this one, but has some common colours with the current one I'm spinning... It's either going to work really well or be a complete mess... I'll consider before I knit the stole if I like the yarn or it needs over dying or I may wait if I'm unsure about the yarn until I've knit the stole then over dye... who says knitting isn't adventurous or challenging ;o)

On the Stash enhancement side... Natalie of The Yarn Yard (see my sidebar) decided to do a shop update, what can you do but support a fellow small business owner.... I came away with one of her first batts 42g of Merino Sparkle +

bfl superwash - 'Lush'


bfl superwash - 'Turmeric'
I've also purchased a TdFleece pack from her in bfl superwash ready for the Tour de Fleece on Ravelry... if anyone wants one go check her site out it's £15 + p&p and you have to purchase before Monday 16th June as that's when she's going to be doing her one-off dying day for this... We've no idea about the colours so it'll be a surprise... I'm opting for the 'Breakway' group and I'm going to attempt, OK force myself to do art yarn, so I'm mentally preparing myself to produce yarn that is completely unusable... I'm already waking up in cold sweats a the thought of yarn which is just so impractical ;o)

The question is will I be able to do it?

A Meme...

Helen aka as Sheep Happens tagged me for this:

The rules: Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.

1) What was I doing ten years ago?
I struggle to remember what I was doing last week sometimes; but what was I doing in May/June 1998... nothing really interesting apart from going to work every day and completing Part 1 of my C&G Creative Embroidery course for the first time!!!

2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today?
As I'm a morning person I prefer to do jobs first thing, then when I finish work it's my time so to speak.... so far jobs I have done are:
a. Done the ironing
b. Tidied the lounge up so it doesn't look like a bombs gone off
c. Made sandwiches for DH & friends lunch
d. Took stock & placed an order for the shop (when you live and work on the same premises work and non-work roll into 1!)
e. Got things out the freezer for tea

3) Snacks I enjoy?
a. Low Fat Digestive with crunchy peanut butter (yes I know a contradiction)
b. Chocolate
c. Ryvita Minis with spready cheese
d. Toast or soft bread with butter & Treacle

4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire?
a. Pay the mortgage
b. Expand the shop
c. Change the car
d. Donate to a few charities

5) Places I have lived?
If you include college & work placements...
Chorley - growing up
Bilsborrow, Nr Garstang (north of Preston) - College
Dalton Nr, Apply Bridge - Work Placement
Dunsop Bridge*, Nr Clitheroe - Work Placement
Chorley - 1st House after getting married
Chorley - 2nd House (still here)

*Interesting fact, Dunsop Bridge is the centre of England!!!

6) Jobs I have had?
a. Farm work (I did and do have a HND in Agriculture) - Dairy, sheep, Pigs, Poultry, Beef & Arable over the years

b. Dry Stone Walling Survey for what was then known as ADAS when I was on summer holiday from Uni studying BSc in Environmental Management

c. Data Input/Testing Software for a Multimedia Language learning software company - I don't speak foreign languages, but I can recognise and hear phrases in many languages enough to be able to break them up to put onto CD ROM including Tagalog (language of the Philippines) when we did an instructional CD ROM for Cunard to help teach the staff how to do things such as putting towels on beds, folding ends of toilet paper over and were the lifeboats were ;o)

d. I worked in a weighbridge office issuing dispatch notes & invoices + a myriad of other office duties for an International Dry Extruded Petfood manufacturer

e. Currently (3 years) run my own shop selling embroidery supplies and knitting yarns

Note: I have never lived or worked outside of Lancashire!!!

7) Peeps I want to know more about?
Well as I think I'm one of the last to be tagged, I'd like people who read my blog but don't necessarily leave comments or comment on a regular basis...please :o)