Woolydoodles Knits

Whoops!

2008-12-23T18:14:00.002Z

OMG! I forgot my password!!!! That's the genuine reason I haven't posted.
Sunday I met up with Chris, Susan, Debs(blogless) and Nadine(who Ive been meaning to meet for aagggggges) at the Liverpool's Catholic cathedral cafe. We all took our knitting and had a lovely relaxing time talking, laughing and knitting. I was reminded while I was there that I hadn't posted on here since July! plus I still haven't put any photos on my Rav acct! Slapped wrists for me I think lol.
I was very brave this morning and went to town to get Jak's Xmas pressies. She drove me in and then met up with me later. We were only in town for about 2 hrs and most of that was taken up with having a cup of tea and a toasted teacake! I was very pleased with myself that I managed to do it esp after Friday I almost ran(well half hobbled) out of a shop and Saturday I abandoned poor Jak in Morrisons with the trolley as I just couldn't cope :(
Today tho', I treated myself to a mooch in the LYS and discovered they have all weights of RYC Cashsoft in their sale starting on Monday......guess where I'm going with my Xmas money on Tuesday?! I'm working my normal days all over the festive period apart from Bank Hols of course!
Have a lovely Xmas everyone....that's if there are still people that click here once in a while! I'll see you all soon x

New things.....

2008-07-03T12:09:00.003Z

Well, I did it.....I bought a Louet Julia. J and I spent a lovely day at the Threshing Barn visiting Janet. I had a good play on the weel and decided once and for all that she was the wheel for me. So I came away with my new toy plus an Ashford drum carder and some shetland fibre. Since then I've been playing with 'Julia'...she needs a new name I think....I have spun some much finer yarn than I've ever done as well as some really chunky...just to check her limitations. I've got to say tho' she can go very chunky as well as very fine. She really is a gorgeous wheel to spin on and I've used all her ratios including the the highest one!
Woolfest was the order of last weekend. J and I drove up on the Thursday to pitch our tent(with help from Chris) in very strong wind before coming back home as I had work on Friday morning....I've already booked time off well in advance for next year! So we went back to the Lakes on Friday afternoon. Our site, Graysonside, was lovely(again I've provisionally booked for next year). There were quite a few ravellers camping there too.....Minder and her daughter Lily, Babylonglegs, Miffyrabbit and Lottie, Eluned and her lovely hubby and dogs as well as Chris in the B+B well away from the wind and rain!!!! There were lots of other people there too but I didn't get to chat to many :( as I wasn't feeling too good when the knit group met on the Friday evening.
We went to Woolfest on Saturday and as usual it was breathtaking. J had a genuine case of wool fumes and needed to go outside every so often. It was so lovely meeting up with old friends and new. The whole event is such a social occasion, even non crafters can enjoy it...J had a great time even when I gave her 1200g of gorgeous raw alpaca fleece to carry lol
I came away with quite a haul. I tried to concentrate on undyed fibres but I gave in when I saw Freyalyn, Yarn Yard and Jeni's dyed spinning stuff. Apart from that I ended up with lots of things to blend on my new drumcarder, a flick carder and dyes. I also did a bit of a swap with Chris and she gave me a BFL fleece(which I washed on Tuesday) a drop spindle and lots of other things.
A lot of people went home on the Sunday but J and I were staying 'til Monday. So we went to a zoo type thing. It turned out a really good place to go and J had the life scared out of her when a Lima decided to use her back as a spring board!! After all the excitement and energy use from the weekend I ended up with the migraine from hell Sunday afternoon which lasted 'til Monday morning. We got back to our house Monday afternoon which was still in one piece! Ad proved me wrong (for once) and apart from a few dishes needing doing the house was tidy with no evidence of shaving foam fights etc like previous times when he has been left!!!!!
Photos next time x

At Last!

2008-06-02T17:30:00.002Z

First of all I'd like to thank everyone for all your lovely comments, it really is appreciated!
I had 2 surprises last week...
1. The washer man turned up out of the blue. So I now have a working washing machine, thank goodness.
2. I got my very long awaited back pay!
So I've been having a bit of a spending spree. A has had some new clothes, J a new phone and clothes and the cats have all had brand new collars....it's very loud in our house due to all the jingling! Even George is wearing a collar now, which is something I thought I'd never see as his eczema can be really bad around his neck area, he looks really posh and is very happy with it!
My big treat will come later in the week as I'm off to the Threshing barn to try a new Louet Julia wheel. I've been eyeing up a folding wheel for a while now, and after seeing the specs for the Julia I feel it might just be what I'm looking for :)
Hopefully pics of any haul next time.......

....and here's the yarn!

2008-05-26T17:55:00.002Z

This is just some of the yarn, now complete. The swatch was an absolute dream to knit...I'm really excited about knitting with this yarn!

Ooooo I've been a naughty blogger

2008-05-26T09:13:00.003Z

I can't believe how long it has been since I last posted!
Here are some finished projects to show what I've been up to.....
First is my Mystic Light shawl modelled by J. It is knit in Posh Yarn Lei.
Above is Mr Greenjeans from Knitty. I used Sublime Angora/merino for this....reminder to self, angora does not like to be frogged! I used the yarn I had got for Viveka as I thought I would probably wear this more often. It's really snuggly and warm. I may knit this again as this was my first top down cardigan and couldn't believe how simple it was! With the added bonus of no sewing :)

Here is some BFL I dyed esp to spin for Mystic Meadows. The spec for it is 960yd of fingering weight yarn. I finished plying all but 100g of it on Saturday and after skeining up I realised I was 66yd short!!!! Anyway another 50g has been spun and I now have a total of 1050yd, so that should be enough...I still have 60g unspun just in case. Below is the same fibre as I predrafted it. I dyed it using Ashford dyes, purple and hot pink.....very potent dyes(first time I've used this brand). I'll have to post the swatch and yarn another time as I'm having trouble with the connection between the camera and pc atm.

I have also swatched for the Apres Surf Hoody from Interweave knits but can't wash it as I will the garment as my washing machine is bust! It broke a few weeks ago now and the engineer has been out a few times(on the insurance) and now just waiting for him to come back tomorrow with the final part. I've been herding washing out left right and centre, all our mates have been stars.

I did have some bad news last month....the DWP have decided in their infinite wisdom not to let me have DLA....aaaggghhhhh. Basically every reason they have come up with to say why I can't have it is the total opposite to the reality of living with this bloody illness. So I had a trip to my local Citizens Advice Bureau and they are helping with my appeal. I even showed my GP the letter I had and he couldn't believe what was written. So while I'm waiting for the appeal process I'm just hoping that my (very)long overdue back pay comes in sooner rather than later....esp with Woolfest on the near horizon..................

Ooooo a social life at last!

2008-04-10T11:23:00.002Z

I managed to book yesterday off work as holiday so I could go to knitting at Borders at Cheshire Oaks on Tuesday evening. It was lovely, lots of space and like minded people. I finally got to meet Donna, who I feel as tho' I've known for ages, which was really nice. Needless to say I was shattered yesterday, which was my own fault as I got carried away chatting the night before so didn't get in until 10pm!!!!!
Thank you to everyone who has asked about Captain. He has perked up a little(still not his usual grumpy but very loving self quite yet) and I took him back to the vets. The vet tried to express some urine from him as we hadn't been able to get a sample ourselves...well bless him, Captain then couldn't stop weeing!!!! So the vet was pleased he had a full bladder(I suppose it showed his kidneys are working) and wants to see him again next week.
I'm now a third of the way thro' my 3rd clue of Mystic Light so the craft drought has hopefully gone! I'd better get some more knitting done.......

Captain

2008-04-06T14:12:00.002Z

I wanted to do a separate post for this as Captain is a very special man to me. He was my first ever cat.
Yesterday, we took him to the vets as we had noticed he couldn't 'wee'.
It turns out he has a feline urinary syndrome. He has had all his bloods tested and a small amount of urine too. His kidneys don't appear to be in great shape and he is showing a small sign of infection. We came away from the vets with plastic granular litter to try and get a urine sample from him(very difficult as 1. he cant wee and 2. he prefers going outside), syringes to get liquid down him, antibiotics and Feliaway(a pheromone that's supposed to chill cats out).
Last night he came over for a big cuddle and we have been feeding him wet food (as opposed to his usual dry)and cat milk to get some liquid in him.
He seems a little happier today.
Got to go back to the vets on Tuesday.....thank god for insurance!

It's snowing!

2008-04-06T13:41:00.003Z

OMG it's snowing! It doesn't normally snow much here let alone stick due to us living near the River Mersey....now when I lived in S Yorks it was entirely different!

Our central heating is broken :( so I'm sat huddled under my woolly jumper and other layers next to an electric heater which is very greedy with our electricity pennies. We've already had a plumber out and now waiting for a 'spark' as it's something to do with the electrics?!

Anyway besides the by. I'm now well enough to go back to work(thank goodness)...this week has been horrible. All I've been able to do is a little bit on Mystic Light.

This is clue 1 with a little of clue 2. I've used the more bluey yarn first as that is at the neck edge and will then be at the top of the sunset colours.

I also thought I'd make a parcel up for Scarletti and spread a bit of yarn karma. She's been having probs with sock yarn and I knew I had a skein of DT Crafts sock yarn and thought it would be nice to dye some up for her. So the yarn, dyed to her specific colourways, it is now winging its way to her and she should have it tomorrow.

I really enjoyed doing it and it helped get me out of an illness induced craft drought.

Oh well, here's the electrician now....better go!

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T16:00:00.004Z

Happy Easter to you all. I hope everyone is having a lovely day.

I realised today I've not blogged for ages!

So here it is....

I've completed the SoSii but not blocked it yet as I can't find my foam mats....I'm sure Asda will be selling them again soon as Spring is supposedly here!

I've also completed these socks

The pattern is Jacobs Ladder by Debbie Tomkies(it's also in March '08 Simply Knitting). I knitted it in Colinette Jitterbug but not sure what the colourway is as it's was a pressie from Chris. This is my first toe up sock and the yarn was lovely to knit with. It's a fab pattern that's really straight forward(esp as I've never been successful with toe ups before). I'm going to try and master a short row heel next.

I'm really pleased, Jacqui, my UK swap partner got her parcel from me. She seems happy with it. This has been a fab swap, I'm just waiting on the post now to complete a 'thank you' present for Delle after sending me such a lovely box of goodies.

I've also finished C's Xmas pressie. She is over the moon with it but I'll have to post pics another time as I gave her it on Thursday and forgot to get some before I handed it over.

Chris popped over on Saturday afternoon. I was really ill on Friday with a migrainy/24hr bug type of thing that I'm still pretty weedy from. Well, I ended up missing guild as I really didn't think I could cope with a few hours dyeing, I was gutted as it was one meeting that I really wanted to go to. Anyway, Chris, bless her, came over afterwards and brought some goodies for me.

This is what she picked up at Skip North for me. Amongst other things are nearly a kilo of navy wool, 2 skeins of sock yarn and lots of fibres to play with!!!! Thanks Chris it was lovely to see you!

Oh well going to find a toe up sock pattern with short rows to cast on and hopefully finish before Mystic Light starts!

Look what the postie has brought me this week!

2008-03-08T10:44:00.002Z

Here is my postman's first offering. It's Posh Yarn's Lei in 'Motherly' for Mystic Light KAL ...sign ups are still open. I'm thinking a sunset with these colours, the reddy one at the bottom graduating to the bluey one for the neck. It really is beautiful yarn and seems to have a lovely drape to it as well.
The next acquisition is my new toy....a peg loom. As you all know we have rather a lot of animals in our house so we don't have many carpets as a result. So I thought, Hmmmmmm....rugs!
I've got no excuse now not to make any plus it means I can use all those little odds and sods of yarn I've got hanging round. This was bought off ebay from a fantastic seller, who has now started her own blog .
Sarah if it helps
SP=secret pal
SOSii= secret of the stole 2(a lace knit a long)
SSS=spring shawl surprise(another lace knit a long)
As far as washing fleece it's really preference. I tend to wash a few handfuls at a time in my 'wash' bowl but others use the bath for the whole thing! What I'd say is let it soak in as hot as poss out of the tap water with a good squirt of washing up liquid and leave it. Then rinse (bringing the water cooler each time) by soaking in clean water until you're happy there's no soap left. Don't rub the fibre. If it is really dirty I gently open the locks by hand...yes it takes time but worth it to avoid felting esp when it's a nice fleece...and the rinsing will remove the dirt.
...any others questions please give me a shout esp as I'll prob ask you bout weaving!

And last but not least look at this amazing UK swap package I got from the very thoughtful and kind Delle !!!
I all came wrapped in beautiful red tissue paper with little tags attached.
Inside the parcels.......
I got Fyberspates Dream sock yarn in greens...it really is dreamy with a lovely twist to the yarn like Jitterbug.
Fyberspates bamboo/merino sock yarn in 'flowers'....so soft and I've been dying to knit with bamboo for ages!
Shunklies Lace weight lambs wool and silk in 'warm spice'...a special knit I think.
All these yarns (Delle didn't know) I have been secretly drooling over...the exact blends and colourways!!!!!!
Then Audrey has been spoilt too! there is some camel top to spin(from Shunklies). I've never spun camel before and don't have any in my stash! So I'll prob blend it with something and plan something yummy for it!
My needles got a treat in the form of a buffer! I've filed my bamboo needles before but never actually thought of buffing them! What a fab idea!
There was some gorgeous Lush products, solid bubble bath and solid bath oil both have the most beautiful relaxing fragrance to them.....J was out with her mates last night so I gave these a test run!
And of course there was chocolate....my faves....Green and Black dark choc and Maltesers!
THANK YOU SO MUCH DELLE. I feel as tho' I've been really spoiled, I had a lump in my throat while I was opening it all as I was so touched. I love it all and you have def got me spot on!!!

Today J and me are going to attempt the Trafford centre. So a trip to Lush is def in order and I can already hear the Mirasol calling my name in Lewis'! I also need to buy one last thing for my swap pal before her parcel gets sent off.
There's also a 'farmers market' not far away which we are going to visit too!

I'll leave you with a pic of gorgeous George.....

Long time no blog?!

2008-02-28T12:21:00.003Z

Well, it's been a while. I do have an excuse, the usual I'm afraid. I've not been well but I'm much better now thank goodness.

Anyway here's the UK Swap topic for this week.

Topic of the Week #6: Swapping

Q: Have you done a swap before (doesn't have to be a knitting swap)? What do you like best about swapping? Are there any personal "requirements" that a swap has to have before you will join?

I love swapping. I don't have the energy to do lots at one time but when I do join a swap I will throw myself in it 100%. I enjoy putting parcels together and hope my partner likes them...so far so good. Like I've said before I like to see how people interpret my likes and dislikes. It's fab to 'meet' different people too.

I've done 2 knitting related swap bot swaps and 2 Sp swaps too! I've also sent little parcels to friends for birthdays or just to cheer them up. Oh yeah I've done sock wars twice too!!!

The only requirement for me is that it has to be something I'm interested in ...obviously!

I've put the SSS aside as it was becoming too stressful to try and do 2 mystery shawls at once...esp with my health being crap! It's made a big difference and I'm now up to date with SoSii.

Here it is trying it's hardest to show off draping over Audrey! (not the best photo) I've added another clue since that pic.

This is the hand spun (with what looks like George in the way as usual)I was going to use for my mate's scarf but it didn't look right at all. So I've started it in some DBliss alpaca silk I had hiding in my stash....the hand spun is now having a think as to what it wants to be!

I'm in the middle of a pressie for my UK Swap Pal. The rest of her parcel is finished so just got to get cracking on that.

I went to Guild on Saturday with Chris. We made Yorkshire buttons. Chris was fab and drove all the way from her house to mine(about 40Min's) and onto guild and back again! Her confidence is really coming on, plus it really helped me as there was no way I could have driven on Sat!

Quick msg to my SP....I've not got a mail addy to reply to you, but pink eyelash!!!!?????? LOL!

Audrey is having cosmetic surgery

2008-02-17T11:51:00.002Z

I forgot to add earlier that Audrey is going to have cosmetic surgery. I bought a Jumbo flyer kit from a fantastic ebayer (who has a shop here selling the most beautiful spinning wheel hooks). She included some dyed kid mohair curls...which I've already sat and teased apart.
Anyway the flyer and bobbins just need some varnish and then they are ready for Audrey to have her boob job!

Ooooops I'm a bit late!

2008-02-17T11:27:00.002Z

I'm a bit late with this post but here goes.......
Topic of the Week #4: Valentine's Day
I know this isn't knitting related, but I thought I'd ask you to share your favourite Valentine's Day memory, or your current plans for this year. Just to share some love. :)
I'm usually really useless at occasions. I'm aware they are there but never get round to getting a card! Well this year was different, J left me a card before she went to work and I ........wait for it......got her a card, chocs, roses and some yummy massage oil!!! Needless to say she was very surprised and shocked!
You see, J and me tend to have 'spoil' times throughout the year. I'm pretty spontaneous and if I see or think of something I'll do it(energy permitting).
My fondest memory is when I first moved back to M/side. A(he was 11 at the time), Poppy and I turned up at J's place of work and text her to tell her to open the security door. There we were standing there with a single red rose as a surprise for her.

here's the next topic.....
Topic of the Week #5: Anticipation
What kind of Spoilee are you? Are you paranoid that it's not being sent, or lost in the post? Do you want it to arrive quickly? OR Do you enjoy the anticipation? Sitting and pondering when it will arrive... and anxiously waiting for it, close to the deadline?
I just love having parcels coming thro' the post, and I'm more than happy to wait. I find it interesting as to how people interpret my tastes. I have loved all the swap parcels I've received.

Well not much has happened this week apart from having the ok to go down to working 2 days a week at work, but only once they have sorted my pay out to what it should be. This will make my life so much easier and it means I will be able to have a little bit of a social life rather than work dominating my weeks......Donna and Chris watch out as I will be able to come to knitting when it's all sorted!!!!!!!!
I've completed the most recent SoSii clue but no pics as the usb cable is playing up :(
Still got to finish the SSS clue before the next one comes out on Tuesday.
Oh yeh, I managed to do some dyeing for a pressie for my UK swap pal....so no pics there either sorry! And I've started on her parcel buying too! ....I love putting parcels together.
I'd better go and catch up on my SSS.........

My Grandad is 87!

2008-02-05T11:14:00.000Z

On Sunday my parents, my sister and I went out with Grandad to celebrate his 87th birthday. It was a lovely day. We bought him a digital camera. He loved it!

We all went back to Mum and Dad's afterwards, where Grandad gave me a carrier bag, asking if it could be of use to me....inside was 11oz+ of P+B Patons yarn(fingering weight)...it was my Grandma's(she died a while ago now), I was so touched!!! It's in really good condition with only a little fading...so I think it's destined to become a shawl.

I also managed to persuade Mum to let me finish a cardi that my Grandma had started that after she had died Grandad had given it to her to complete. It's done in a Lee Target 4ply in a grey/blue and all that needs doing is the armholes upwards on both fronts(Grandma had already done the dreaded sleeves). So that won't take me long when I get stuck into it! If you look at the photo you may see that she's done both fronts at the same time to make sure they're both the same length...I think I'll do mine like that in future!

SoSii had stalled a bit, so no progress shots as of yet. I've been spinning some teal shetland and plying it with some greeny bfl for C's very late Xmas pressie. It's now hanging in the kitchen drying and I'm hoping to knit this with it.

I've completed clue 5 on the SSS and it's looking quite pretty I think.

I got my UK swap match on Friday. I've contacted my spoilee and have a few ideas as to her parcel. I've also heard from my spoiler...she sent me a fab Ecard with a goggle eyed sheep!!!

I must go and catch up on the SoSii........

Project Process..UK Swap topic

2008-02-05T10:52:00.000Z

Q: What is your process when planning a project? Do you shop for yarn and then find a suitable pattern? Do you find your pattern and then go out to buy the yarn? Or are you stash-busting? If your stash is out of control, how did it get that way?

As far as projects are concerned I do a bit of both. Sometimes I find a pattern and then go hunting for yarn but then again I sometimes find yummy yarn and have to search for a pattern for it.
I do stash bust at times eg. if I want to knit some gloves, I'll look in my stash and then at patterns(usually online) and try and match the two.
Altho' it is nice to spin a fibre to knit for a particular project and dye it too!

The weekend

2008-01-30T13:26:00.000Z

Well I'm still alive...only just! I had a lovely weekend.
Chris and I went to the North Cheshire guild in Croft for a day of long draw spinning. After a very slow start by me I think I've got the hang of it now!!!! We both decide to join the guild and so will be back next month making buttons?!
So Saturday was my 'test' before I went back to work on Monday. After only 5 hrs I was shattered to say the least, needless to say no knitting was done until Sunday.
I went to work on Monday, came home that evening and lay on the sofa and next thing I knew it was 1130pm! So I'm glad that I have managed to take today and Friday as holiday.
I've put my holiday in at work and also booked my camping pitch for Woolfest so I'm really pleased that has been sorted out. I've also put hols in at work for a tattoo convention in July and Whitby Goth weekend in October.
It was my birthday yesterday and I had a lovely day. My mum came over and we went out for lunch. J couldn't get yesterday off work so I'm going to have my birthday with her on Friday.
I got some pennies for my drum carding fund, clothes, books, fibre, posh yarn voucher, some smellies and chocolate. My mates from work bought me a 'nursey' watch which I've been wanting for months as we aren't allowed to wear normal watches at work.
As you can see I've finally been able to work out 'links'....just got to sort out a link for my questionnaire now!!!

My UK Questionnaire

2008-01-30T12:22:00.000Z

Part One: Crafting

Do you knit, crochet, or both?
I am primarily a knitter altho' I can crochet I'm not very good at it(despite having books on the subject!)

What do you like to make?
At the mo I'm taking part in a lot of lace KAL's, I enjoy doing them but they are usually destined as gifts as I'm not a big shawl wearer. Other than that I enjoy socks, gloves, garments etc. Anything really that holds my interest!

Do you have a favourite project?
er.....I like to have a complicated as well as an easy(mindless) project on the go, so I can swap between the 2 depending on what I want to do.

Do you have a favourite type of fiber or brand of yarn?
Anything with natural fibres

Do you have a least favourite type of yarn?
Acrylically stuff......altho' it does come in handy for the pets beds!

Do you do any other crafts?
Oh yes! I spin with my wheel, Audrey and enjoy dyeing yarn and fibre. I do a bit of felting too...whatever takes my fancy really.

What knitting do you bring ‘on the go’?
Usually socks or gloves but I do take my lace to work with me....I knit during my breaks and it helps me switch off.

What do you carry your ‘on the go’ knitting in?
One of those jute bags from the supermarket!

Do you want something new?
I can never have too many bags as I like to have a project in separate ones.....I have 3 sitting near me as I type!!!

Are there any knitting gifts (book, toy, yarn, item, tool) that you have been lusting over?
Not sure really, I do still use my original set of bamboo needles I bought when i was 18 and I'm trying to slowly replace them(they can be a little rough and are not as good quality as some that are around nowadays) and I love circulars and have just treated myself to a few sets of addi lace from Socktopus.

Part Two: Your Favourites

What is your favourite colour?
Greens, oranges, dark reds, blues, purples...the darker side of colours really

What is your least favourite colour?
Pink!! although I don't mind it in variegated yarn/fibre. I don't like neons!

What scents/smells do you like?
Lavender and relaxing fragrances. Orange and fresh fragrances too!

What don’t you like?
Vanilla...it gives me bad headaches!

How do you like to pamper yourself? (bubble bath, hand creams, massage, manicure)
I have a long bath every night so anything bath orientated and I've always got hand cream close by too! I've recently discovered 'Soap and Glory' at Boots and love it!

What goodies to you like to treat your tummy with? (chocolate, biscuits, truffles, etc.)
I love dark chocolate...Green and Blacks. But Maltesers are my all time fave sweet!

Do you prefer tea or coffee while you knit?
Either...I drink a lot of both...the stronger the better esp tea! I have been know to use 2 bags per cup.

Any particular kind?
I'm a PG and Kenco girl.

Favourite mug/cup?
I have one I use for tea and one for coffee. I'm a firm believer in that tea tastes better in a china mug...has to be a big mug tho'!!

Do you listen to/watch anything while you knit? (TVshow-Along, movies, music, podcasts)
The TV is on most of the time.

Part Three: Living & Past-times

Where do you live in the UK? (General idea not address)
St Helens, Merseyside

Have you always lived here, or did you grow up somewhere else?
I was born and lived my first 18 yrs on the Wirral. I moved to Cardiff for 2 yrs to go to college and then onto S Yorks for 6 yrs before leaving my hubby to move in with my female partner in St Helens 7yrs ago....So I'm now back home in Merseyside!

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?
Ooooooo somewhere cold and snowy so I could wear lots of woolly things....I'm not very good with heat even in this country!

If you couldn't’t go to a knitting group, what other kind of gathering would you go to? (book club, tea party, yoga class, jewelery class, etc.)
Spinning or dyeing....hands down!

What’s your style? (elegant, traditional, glamourous, girly, natural, sporty, outgoing, etc.)
I'm just me really, erm I prob come across as studenty I suppose. I'm very much a combat pants and t shirt kinda girl.

Final Part:

Any allergies/preferences (fiber-wise or treat-wise)?
Just Vanilla really.

Anything we missed that you’d like your partner to know?
I am a big animal lover! I own 10 cats and a dog, so anyone I'm matched with will prob get a bit of free animal fibre with their goodies!!!

Woo Hoo we have photos at last!

2008-01-25T14:26:00.000Z

OK we will start with some WIP's. Above is the first clue completed for SoSii. This is done in a lovely alpaca/wool blend.
Here we have the Spring Shawl Surprise. The bottom lifeline shows the end of clue 1 and the top shows the end of clue 2. I've started clue 4 on this photo(I've now completed it). This is knitted in a wool/nylon blend(a usual sock yarn composition) and is slightly more purple than in the photo. I'm thinking of dyeing this when I've completed it to a deep purple.
Here is a completed Mystic Waters minus the blocking. The photo's really blurry as I was trying to take it quickly...and Twiggy wanted her pic taken too!
These are the polka dot gloves I had a custom order for. I still need to sew the 'hats' on and add icord and buttons but all the knitting is done. I'm a bit worried as the thumbs are a little big, but better big than small! I dyed the semi solid gray with acid dye and the variegated with pretend 'Kool-aid'.
So now I'm up to date with knitted items, I'm going to spend today plying the green tweedy stuff that's been on my bobbins for ages. It just means I can free them up ready for tomorrows trip to the North Cheshire guild with Chris, where we are doing long draw spinning...I must go and dig out my carders and niddy noddy!

A Belated Happy New Year

2008-01-19T17:18:00.000Z

I hope everyone had a lovely festive season as well as new year. We certainly did. J and A spoiled me rotten with loads of yummy pressies, Mum and Dad bought me a lamp alarm clock thing....basically wakes you up (and sends you to sleep) with 'natural' light, so should help with SAD(along with my self help of having a 20min or so 'hobble' in daylight every day). My sis bought me a lovely fleecy throw that zips and buttons into a sleeping bag! As she said I can use it for when I feel like curling up on the sofa....which I've been doing a lot of recently as I've had THE cold that's affecting everyone at work and it's left me with laryngitis and no voice at all!!!! I got lots of lovely cards and pressies from my mates too! Thank you all very much.
New year was fun as J and I went to see St Trinians at the cinema which was great.

On the knitting front:-
I've still not blocked MW
I've finished MS6 and that needs blocking too!
Finished knitting the polka dot gloves, they took ages as I'm not used to colour work, just need to sew buttons and finger 'hats' on.
Started Spring Shawl Surprise in 1ply weight yarn and ended up restarting in a thicker yarn. So finished clue 2 today and hope to have clue 3 done before Tuesday and then I'm caught up.
Need to start SoSii which I'm using a alpaca/wool blend from Forsells (I've been very good and already swatched).
I ended ripping Branching Out completely. I loved the yarn and colour but the pattern was doing nothing for me. So the beautiful cash/silk is sitting in my cupboard waiting for just the right project.

My Knitting new years resolutions are(as required by UK swap)
1. Get over my mind block of fine laceweight/cobweb yarn.
I really don't know why I get this. I never seem to have trouble with instructions...give me any pattern and I'm away, but fine yarn er...no......any suggestions will be welcome regarding this matter! I've already thought about knitting a no-brainer shawl to give me a bit of confidence?
2. Finish any UFO's.....
I've only got 2 garments to finish, so I think I'll pick those up soon as I'm sure to get 'laced out' soon seeing as I've joined 5, yes 5! KAL's

I borrowed Chris' Drum Carder a few weeks ago. What a difference this has made! It still takes the same amount of time to card fleece but with much less effort! So I've asked my family for donations to the 'Mel would really like to buy an Ashford drum carder' fund for my birthday...which is only a week on Tuesday....sssqqquuuueeeeeeee!
(Photos when the light gets better)

Happy Christmas to you all!

2007-12-24T17:56:00.000Z

Happy Christmas to everyone. I hope you all have a lovely festive season.
I will see you in the new year!

Marilyn Manson

2007-12-09T16:22:00.000Z

Yes! we went to the gig on Wednesday. It was J's birthday present from me. It took about 3.5hrs(including a stop) to get to London. Then, what felt like hours, to find the hotel!!!! It was amazing...it really took me back to my teens.....I was a velvet and lace goth then(I was told back then that I looked like Patricia Morrison from Sisters of Mercy!). The atmosphere was fantastic and I even managed to 'dance'!!! Unlike some miserable people behind us that kept their arms crossed the whole time.
I even got to have a drink, which is something I don't do due to not wanting to and my meds.
I drove back on Thursday and it took 3.5hrs again but no getting lost! On the way down I managed to knit half a sock using my sugar almond hand spun...just a simple basket weave pattern off the top of my head.
I've completed clue 7 for MW and now waiting for no8 as then it will be finished.....photo when it's off the needles as it's too big to see properly. I started MS6 last Saturday. This is a top down triangular shawl. I've just got 12 rows left of clue 2....I'm doing it in a bluey/lilac 4ply Diploma gold.
I've had a good go at Branching Out but I don't think my sis will get it for her birthday so it'll be Christmas instead. I've also got a commission for some gloves. The person they're for wants a gray glove with multi coloured big polka dots. So I've got some Matchmaker that I think I'll dye random bright colours and strand it between the gray.
My Secret Pal (the one I spoiled) got her reveal package this week. Her name is Deb and she seems really pleased with what I sent her...I included a Print o the Wave stole I'd knitted especially for her. I feel very lucky to have found a lovely friend in both her and my spoiler. I still don't know who that is. I'm itching to find out!!!

I'm a lot better thanks

2007-11-29T13:32:00.000Z

Thank you to everyone for all your good wishes. I am a lot better now thank you. Still feel a bit yuck tho' but that's life with ME for you. Got to try and go to work tomorrow.
While I've been off work I've managed to catch up on some knitting. I'm half way thro' clue 6 on MW woohoo! So just another 2 to go. I've also had a parcel thro' from Hipknits, containing the softest cash/silk lace in 'bluebell'....a lovely Eeyore blue...which is slowly getting knitted up into Branching Out from Knitty. Brill service and communications from Kerrie too!
Another parcel I received(today) was an order from Socktopus. Wow is all I can say! I ordered some addi lace needles(for MS6). The parcel was so well wrapped containing a Socktopus st marker, some sweeties and a sachet of wool wash....Alice's customer service and communications are amazing!
My stash now has a new space. J moved A into the little bedroom(at his request!) So my stash is now sitting in the larger bedroom with my ball winder and swift set up in a permanent home on the desk! I did spend some time separating my fibre from yarn stash...I didn't realise I had that much!!!! I've now got the spare bed and a tv in their for when I want a woolly hit!

Agghhh

2007-11-19T13:20:00.000Z

Well guess who's been diagnosed with 'flu?!
I spoke to my GP this morning and that's exactly what he told me...full blown influenza...typical!
I even had a 'flu jab booked for Thursday(which has now been cancelled as there's no point). I am relieved tho' that at least I'm going to recover from this awful pain and yuckiness that I've been feeling and that it's not my usual complaints relapsing!.
Anyway that's the whinge over. I have on the other hand, although I had to make myself as my hands are still very sore, done some knitting. I've made a 3 pointed hat from Woolywormhead's blog....I did knit a rib on it tho' ...in my bluey/greeny hand spun. I've also done about 15 rows of Viveka and finished spinning 'curry' which is ready wound up into centre pull balls for Forest Canopy shawl!
So fingers crossed(ouch that hurts!) I can catch up on the knitting I missed!

Apologies

2007-11-17T18:56:00.000Z

First of all I apologise for taking so long to post. I think I can sum it up very easily...I've felt absolutely crap to say the least.
I think I've finally managed to catch up on my emails. So thank you to you all for contacting me and sending your best wishes it really means a lot.
Well, as you can imagine not much knitting has been taking place. I'm well and truly in a muddle with my MW......I tried frogging and still haven't got the correct st count so need to go back further aagghhh....brain fog has def got in the way!...so it's been put to one side for the time being.
I have started Viveka at a trip to my parents last Saturday(when I thought I was just going to sleep all afternoon), so the rib for the back has been done and not much else!
I have finished spinning 'curry' and just waiting for it to dry from setting the twist. I really want to do something to get my teeth into rather than reams of st st, so after an inspiring email from Chris I thought it would be perfect to use for Forest Canopy as the pattern has got a bit of umph to it.
While I'm on the subject of Chris, thank you so much for the lovely 'cheer me up' parcel I received today......beautiful turquoise/blue Collinette yarn(I love the colour so much), dark orange chocolate and some heat pads for the horrible pain I've been experiencing. I was soooooo touched, thank you again.
Fingers crossed 'curry' will be dry soon so I can wind it up and cast on....

I love my Secret Pal!

2007-11-03T12:36:00.001Z

Look what my SP sent me this week!
There is 3 (yes 3!) bags of merino roving...oranges, greens and reds.
A cable sock pattern....very me!
2 notebooks and a diary,
some humbug sweets..yummy!...already eaten.
and some fab cat shaped highlighter pens....which arrived at exactly the right time as I've started the Mystic waters(MW) shawl this week!
My SP is fab, Thank you so much. I'm now looking forward to finding out exactly who you are !

This is the 1st clue for the MW shawl. My new yarn arrived early in the week and I got as far as this by Wed night. I'm about a quarter of my way thro' clue 2 now but pics of that when I've done it ! This yarn is much easier to see the pattern...and I get to use my lovely new bamboo circulars too! Donna.....notice the 'sheepies' are coming in very handy?

Last weekend was fab. I ended up staying at my parents house on Sun. My sister and I waited 'til my Dad went to bed(which wasn't as early as usual as they were still recovering from a flight back from the Caribbean which they made Friday). We then managed to decorate both his and Mum's cars, the house and the fence posts. Poppy woke me up next morning as she could hear him moving around(I was shattered as you can imagine). We went for lunch and took his cake. I really think he enjoyed his day.

I took my Fiesta('Feeps') in for her welding on Tuesday and a very sweet AA man took pity on me at the garage and drove me home so I wasn't struggling...walking and talking was very hard on Tuesday...but it was worth it for Dad to have a good birthday.

J has picked the car up and Feeps has now passed her MOT and has her tax disc for another 6 months. So I'm mobile again! ...watch out Chris, you will have a visitor when I'm up to it!

Oh nearly forgot, I managed to get some Sublime angora/merino at half price!!! I'm thinking of knitting Viveka from knitty with it, just got to make sure I've got tension with it first.

FO alert! the Denmarks are finished but J wouldn't let me block them as she wanted to wear them straight away for work!!! Pics as soon as I can.

Right I'm going to grab a cup of coffee and have a rest! Enjoy your weekend.

Hands up, who wants to live here?

2007-10-28T14:44:00.000Z

Here?
Here?
or here?

There is a house for sale in spinners drive if anyone is interested!

I discovered these roads when I took my Fiesta to a friend of a friend to look over prior to the MOT. Unfortunately my car failed so it needs quite a bit of welding doing which is only to be expected on an 11 yr old car!

This week has been awful health wise. It is the wrong time of the month and my ME/fybro is always worse then. So luckily work let me take Friday off as holiday as I really needed the rest. Tomorrow is my Dad's 60th birthday and I'd already booked it off. So in effect I've got nearly a week off. My sis, Mum, Grandad and I are going to take my Dad out for lunch tomorrow...he's not a party person. I've still got to decorate his cake!!!

Below is a pic I forgot to put on my last post of the yarn that I've spun.

Starting bottom left is the red/purple/blue BFL I'd dyed, it's a sock weight. Then above that is the green/blue/yellow BFL again I'd dyed and that is aran/chunky weight. Next to that is 2 skeins of Wensleydale in Heathery and blue self stripes(again I dyed), this is a DK/aran weight.

Under that is the green tweedy mix, a DK weight and then next is 2 skeins of pastel wool/nylon mix again in a DK weight.

This week I've started the 2nd Denmark sock and got to the gusset on those. I may even finish those tonight. I've also spun and plied the first lot of curry roving. It's just sitting on the bobbin until I have the energy to skein it up.

Here is the start of the Mystical waters shawl. I tried it in the lace weight I'd dyed. I loved the colour but had probs as it was extremely fine and difficult to see what I was knitting and to frog. So I bit the bullet and bought some slightly heavier lace weight (more to the weight of the original done by the designer). My only prob is I'm only going to have 1200yds not 1200m like the pattern requires but I'm sure I'll be able to do something to sort it out. Just waiting on the post for that now as well as some undyed lace weight, foot lasts(for my felted slippers) and also a parcel from my SP. I just can't understand our post as it comes via Crewe not Liverpool(where there are still backlogs). So I think I'm just going to have to be patient!

Photos at last!!!

2007-10-23T13:09:00.000Z

J was a darling and found the camera software and installed it for me so I could give you these photos as promised!

This is my first parcel from my SP...minus the Green and Blacks choc which has long gone! I think with the weather becoming increasingly colder(hovering around the minus figures)...which we need after the summer that never was.....I'm going to have to knit a scarf with the squishy alpaca. Thank you again SP.

This is my sisters cat Yogi. He is George's brother from the same litter. He's such a cuddle man and I had to physically move him each night, while I looked after them, so I could get into bed! He did curl up in my back to help when i was in a lot of pain. He's a sweetie. He also lives up to his name as he 'yogles'(yodles) a lot when talking to you!
This is Button, Yogis sister(same father different mother... I own both their mothers). She is a very pretty girly girl that loves having her tummy tickled! She's such a cutie.....and a pig as she never stops eating!!!!
Saturday Chris and I went to the Friendship day at the Frodsham branch of the spinners and weavers guild. We had a lovely day(if not very tiring) and this was my haul. 2x100g blue rainbow merino(something for J I think) and 2x100 'curry'(as Chris called it) rainbow merino ...only one in the pic as I've started spinning the other(see pic below)...all for me! There's also some alpaca/silk and merino/silk as well as some 4.5mm bamboo(at last!) circulars to knit my Mystic waters shawl.....I had to cut my horrible metals as my sts wouldn't budge on them!

Talking of the shawl, this is the lace weight I have dyed for it. I also threw in some Shetland fibre that I picked up on Sat in the dye pot too. I didn't stir the mixture as I wanted a semi ish solid variation...(it is slightly darker than the pic) I'm still in 2 minds as to add some blue or green over the lighter parts...I don't know really?
I'll leave you with the cutie pics I promised ages ago just before the kitts went to their new home. George(notice the similarity to Yogi?...he's just a black version of George) with his baby sister Lily in Poppy's bed.
And here's Squeeze looking gorgeous cuddled on Lily's blanket!

I've killed Chris?!

2007-10-16T12:16:00.000Z

This weekend has been taken up knitting for sockwars. Unfortunately for Chris she was my target. So after knitting solidly on Saturday then blocking the socks J and myself drove over to the Wirral and 'killed' her. I knitted the socks from some pure wool in blue/purple random that I thought she would like. To soften the blow I did give her some chocolate ands fresh cream choccy eclairs(well you wouldn't be able to put those in the post would you!?). Sorry Chris!
She had already completed her 1st sock for her target so I have now made its mate. They should be in the post today(when they are dry).
In the meantime Donna is my assassin! she has knitted me a gorgeous pair of socks(I've only seen pics of them). The post has been and gone so it'll be tomorrow when I die!!!!!!
I've now just got to complete my secret knitting for my SP and then I can look to doing something else....namely the Mystic waters mystery shawl....I've got the yarn and just need to dye it up in appropriate colours, teals/blues/greens I think.
Oh talking of my SP she got her 1st parcel and loves it!!!! I'm so pleased esp as she wanted to learn to spin so I put 'rare breeds' roving and a spindle in for her...she is really happy with it!
Thanks to everyone for adding me on Ravelry. I've still not had energy and photo to start building my notebook up!

It's October already!!!

2007-10-07T12:10:00.000Z

I can't believe it's October already...where has this year gone??
I managed to get back to work this week. Thank you to everyone who sent good wishes regarding my health. I really feel that 'something' is doing the rounds and I managed to catch it early on. I went to Occy health at work this week and was told they should have flu jabs in next week so I'm going to be first in line I think!
On the crafting front, big thanks go to Chris. We are both creating the same item for our SPs and I got rather stuck as the pattern didn't 'add' up! So luckily Chris sorted it out(she's done lots of this type of pattern so understands the construction better than I do) and I'm now on the home straight......I'm hoping to get as much as poss done before the weekend when SOCKWARS starts. Talking of which I still haven't checked my gauge. Yarn Monkey states it's 25stx34rows or something like that so I'll either dig in my DK stash or maybe some hand spun????
I actually did some spinning this week. I've spun up some Wensleydale that I'd dyed in blue/pink/heather and that's come out a heavy DK weight and also self striping...my first attempt at dyeing to knit it up that way! I also spun some green and brown of unknown type of wool fibre that I bought just before or as I got Audrey off Ebay. It looks horrible carded but it has spun up lovely. A kind of tweedy effect!!! Another pair of socks I think and if that doesn't work out it can be used on my mitred square camping blanket. Again a DK weight.
Oh, I'm now on Ravelry! My name on there is 'woolydoodles' naturally!!!

Not much of a week

2007-09-30T12:03:00.000Z

I've been off work all week. It's a throat infection that has been the culprit. Unlike most people that work thro' such illnesses I can't :(
I'm now feeling less shivery and achy thank goodness, and I've been able to get on with my secret knitting(when I've felt upto it), so I'm hopefully on the home straight with that now.
I think Audrey and myself need to do some spinning this afternoon as we have neglected each other a bit recently.
It's been so cold this week. Def a week of wearing knitted socks, gloves and scarves. We have even had the heating on!
Acupuncture went well. My right leg started while I was there and the acupuncturist positioned her needles to give me some relief. So got another appt with her on Tuesday, ready to go back to work on Wednesday.

I'm here, honest! (no pics as still need to sort camera out)

2007-09-24T13:26:00.000Z

Omg it's been over two weeks since I last posted!!! What a two weeks, it's def had it's share of ups and downs.
First of all Bella has now been spayed, so no more kittens for us as she was the last to be neutered.
I also received my first SP11 package. I'd been waiting for some yarn in the post so you can imagine my surprise to get this parcel.
Inside was 2x50g Frog Tree alpaca chunky...very warm and squishy!
Geranium and orange soap from Neal's Yard..smells gorgeous.
2 beautiful little note cards.
A long tube of Belgian hot chocolate...the tin will be used for my DPN's once I've drank the hot choc!
AND 2 bars of my fave Green and Blacks choc!!!
Thank you so much SP I love it all!

Last weekend J took me to my sisters house...I was unable to drive myself as my back had decided to play up in a big way. Sitting for the hour and a half drive was pretty sore.
So I spent the first half of the week knitting and relaxing as I was unable to do much else :(
Wednesday I was brave and drove my sisters car(my back had eased) and went to visit Bev (http://www.knitting4fun.com/). I had a lovely day there and even stayed for tea...which was especially nice as I hate cooking for myself and so just forget about eating. It turned out that she had a stall a the Craft 4 Crafters show at Newark at the weekend, so I offered to help set up. Bev agreed but only if I didn't do too much. That's exactly what I did(help out that is) and I even went over on Friday to help a bit on the stall...I mainly spent the day needle felting and giving bits of advice about spinning and fibres. To top it all Karen (the girl that helps Bev on the stall) and Bev have asked me to visit their knitting group as well as help them learn to spin! How fab is that?!
Unfortunately I didn't sew up the baby clothes but I did make a bit of a dint into some knitting for my SP, as well as picking up a few bits for her last 2 parcels....I think they're more or less done now!
I came home on Saturday and naturally I felt tired.
Today I got up for work and ended up ringing in sick as I'm ear achy, head achy and neck achy. Sorry for whinging but I'm in a 'don't know what to do with myself ' mood! To add insult to injury my back has decided to start again.
So I've been dosing up on hot orange squash and having my beanie(wheat bag) attached to my neck for relief of my sore glands.
I've finally been banded(wages at work) only 2 1/2 yrs after I started! So that money starts in October and I'm just hoping my back pay is pretty quick after that as I want to buy a memory foam mattress. Then fingers crossed that will help with the old bodily pain. I've also booked an acupuncture session in the hope that that helps in the ways that conventional medicine doesn't!

They're going :(

2007-09-09T15:23:00.001Z

Today is our last day with the kittens. Lily has already gone to her new home and Squeeze is going tonight when his new mum has finished work. It's really sad to see them go but at least we know they have fantastic homes. Their new families have already said they will stay in touch and let us know their progress. Each kitten has been told that they can come back to us if there's any problems!!!
I would post some really cute photos that I took last night but I'm still having problems uploading them.
This is def our last litter of kitts as Bella is getting spayed on Tuesday...no lie in for me on my day off!!
On the knitting front, I've finished the cheeky chino cardi but I'm leaving it until I'm at my sisters to sew it up. I've started knitting Denmark from Knitting on the Road in my hand spun and dyed red yarn. I've only done the cuff on the first as I've been doing some secret knitting for my SP...I can't say what until she gets the parcel(once I find a box big enough!) as I'm not sure if she's sussed me out yet!
A told J the other day that I must suffer from OKD...obsessive knitting disorder!!!! I have corrected him since and added an S to it...obsessive knitting and spinning disorder!!!...I think I could name at least few people suffering from this!!!
Just got 1 week left at work. It's going to be strange this week as C is off for a week, and as we car share we usually have a good rant about the day on the way home. So poor J will be listening to me going on instead!
My sis is def going away. So I'll be going to Nottingham with Audrey at the weekend. I may not be able to use her computer as she's been having problems with it, unless I can sort it out for her. I'm thinking of starting another item for my SP while I'm there....Chris do you think it's going to take long to do???
Oh, while I think on, there is another SOCK WARS! Yarn monkey has a different blog address, here it is http://yarnivation.blogspot.com/ . I did sock wars last year and met Jen thro' it. It was fun...have a go!
I must go and put tea in the oven......

Ta Dah!

2007-09-04T16:07:00.000Z

Look what I got!!! Thank you to Jen and Chris for giving me this.

I'd like to nominate Laughing Mouse and Liz for this award for being a great mates!

Liz...I can't comment on your blog as you haven't got me as an LJ 'friend'...I've just created an account so I can leave you messages, please add me I'm 'woolydoodles', Ta!

I'm still here!

2007-09-02T12:44:00.001Z

I'm sorry it's been ages since my last post :(
I'm having probs with attaching photos.....I have got some lined up of the sugar almond yarn and of some BFL I've spun this weekend. It's the blue/green/yellow from my previous post, I've got about 112yds out of 100g and I've 2 plyed it as well.
I was good by not spinning until I had just got the button bands to do on the cheeky chino cardi!
J and I went to the stitch and craft show at the GMEX in Manchester yesterday. Like the last one it was pretty dire unless you are seriously into card making. There were only 3 'decent' knitting stalls and I did pick up a few things I wanted although the main thing I went for I couldn't find...it's a pressie for my SP. So I think I'm going to have to order it online. After we had finished at the show J and I went to Canal St for a scrummy meal. It was really nice to sit and relax in surroundings that are extremely gay friendly....for anyone that doesn't know Canal St is the Manchester gay village area.
This is about as exciting as this week has got! Oh well I'm off work in 2 weeks supposed to be looking after my sisters cats but she doesn't even know if she's going away now! I'm still going to go down for a few days tho' as I want to pop over and see Bev.
I have been given an award by Jen and Chris....Thank you very much I'm very touched! But as I'm still unsure as to put it on I'll leave it for another post.

Pictures at last!

2007-08-23T14:10:00.000Z

OK as promised, here are the long awaited piccies. This is the fleece I spun up and dyed with 'pretend' Koolaid(2 green, 2/3 cherry and 2/3 tropical(orangey)). J now wants this yarn for socks for herself!
This is the BFL I dyed using acid dyes. I'm really pleased with the colours and how they have merged. So I'm looking forward to spin these once I've finished the Presto Chango(see Shoeless blog for the pattern) and a cardi from 'Cheeky chinos' for the new baby's older sister...for my preggie mate from work.
A FO!!!! This is the yarn I was gifted from Angora Anne...she had dyed it herself. She did send me a lovely pattern to knit. I tried it but toe up socks are really not me, I much prefer to knit cuff down. Anyway these are my Monkeys on my brand new sock blockers. I had been asking around about these and decided to get them from Get Knitted as there was some 4ply soft there that I wanted to knit I Love Gansey sock from SixSockknitalong.
Here is Squeeze in his favourite place......the scratching post. He likes to play 'King of the castle' with it!
Here is Lily being cute. They never fail to amaze me, they've weaned themselves, learnt to drink water, regularly groom, used the 'big boys and girls' tray rather than their little tray and basically cause havoc!!!!!
This week has been really nice so far. Chris invited me to a Guild 'meet' at a lovely lady's garden on Tuesday. Apparently this happens once a year that she opens her garden for guild members. We had a lovely afternoon spinning. I managed to ply the sugared almond....pics next time as it's drying at the moment. I managed to get 270yds Navajo plyed, so there's enough for some DK socks. The garden was beautiful, it was like something out of a novel. It was so quiet and sitting in stunning surroundings it felt like I was on holiday! A real secret garden.
After having a long day out on Tuesday, yesterday I was shattered to say the least. At lunchtime I had a wander to Abakhan and picked up some Welsh Mountain top....yes you read correctly Abakhans selling spinning fibres!!!!! It is pretty kempy and with the dark fibre you would expect from Welsh mountain, but it is softer than I thought it would be. So I thought at the very least I could do some dyeing with it!
I also managed to have a look around for SP11 gifts...........
Talking of which I had an email from my pal today. She sounds really lovely. I'm so looking forward to spoiling her!
I'm off now to have another stab at Presto Chango...the sooner it's finished, the sooner I can start the cheeky chinos cardi, the sooner I can start spinning my dyed fibre!!...That's saying that I stick to it!

SP11 and dyeing!

2007-08-16T16:27:00.001Z

OOOO it's the start of SP11 today. I've received the details for my down stream pal...I'm really pleased with the match. We seem to have an awful lot in common! I have lots of ideas of what to send.
Just waiting now for my upstream pal to get in touch.....I'm really looking forward to getting to know both people.
I changed my medication on Friday after an appalling week of pain. I decided to draw on my skin exactly where and when I got pain so the doctor could see what's going on. Well, I was covered in pen marks at work...I looked a real sight!!!! The doc has decided it is my tendons that are the problem due to the fybromyalgia :( So he's changed my meds and I'm now getting pain relief via a patch on my arm. It has made a difference and taken an edge off the pain so it's more bearable. Also I've not needed my other tablets as much and been more 'awake' so that is a real bonus!!!!
Today I've been playing with dyes! I received some BFL roving yesterday and thought I'd give it a whirl. I was very good and mixed all my dyes into squeezy bottles(no drips) and wrapped all the wool up once I'd coloured it. I steamed the cling film wrapped wool and now I have 100g of blue/green and 100g of red/blue/purple. I'm really pleased it's worked out well with minimal mess.
Sorry no pics as camera is still out of batteries.
I finished the felted bag for my sis. I love it but we will have to see what she thinks of it.
The monkeys are now onto the feet and I'm being very strict about not casting on for anything else before I finish them.
I've started spinning some sugar almond coloured wool/nylon. It's spinning like a dream. I've split each length into 8 and there's barely any drafting needed. I'd better finish it soon as I'm going to want to spin my newly dyed roving when its dry!!!
Update on the kitts.....they both know their names and will toddle over when called! They are really cute and their little personnalities are really showing thro'......Weaning next!!!

Secret Pal 11 Questionaire

2007-08-09T12:49:00.000Z

This is an updated version of the one I did for SP10.
Here goes....

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
I love natural fibres wool, alpaca, cotton etc.
What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
I'm not keen on acrylics although it comes in handy for the animals beds!!!! and 'fashion' tinsel yarns are a definite no no!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
My long needles are in a very long red(with kittens on ...aaahhhhh) pencil case type thing that they came in when I bought them back in 1993. My short ones(20cm) and circulars are in a black magnetic closure clutch bag and my dpn's are in a narrow make up bag along with the rest of my bits and bobs I carry with me(sewing needles, scissors etc)...but I need to fix the zipper on it as it's decided to break...must be all that wear and tear!!!!

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
According to my mum she taught me to knit when I was 4!! So that makes it 28 yrs!
I'd say I was an advanced intermediate. I'm always up for a challenge!

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Unfortunately no.

5. What's your favorite scent?
Fresh smells...oranges..sea air.
Also relaxing aromatherapy...lavender etc. I do like vanilla but it gives me really bad headaches so I have to avoid it.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
Ooo yes!! I absolutely adore Green and Black dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), I like ginger and orange things too!

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
I cross stitch and I've got 2 sewing machines(even tho' they've not been used for a bit), I can crochet but have no idea what stitches I'm doing!..I must get my book out and rectify that!!! I can embroider and have been known to make the odd card or 2.
Yes, I do spin, with my Ashford Traditional called Audrey. I love it! I've had her since April of this year and I'm enjoying washing, carding and spinning fibre...I've even started to dye too! I love trying different fibres esp from rare breeds.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I like anything from classical to heavy rock with a bit of punk thrown in to add colour! I used to be a goth if that helps? I recently saw the Scissor Sisters and Kylie in concert. The only thing I can't stand is the 'duh! duh! duh! duh!' dance(?) music that's around at the moment, as well as the cover versions they're doing.
I like to listen to Cd's when I'm driving.

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
I love the darker end of the spectrum...greens, blues, purple, dark reds and dark orange....however I really HATE pink!!!! Although when it's in space dyed/hand painted yarn I like it. I absolutely love space dyed and hand painted yarns and fibres as well as semi solid ones too!

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
I live with my female partner and step son(17)....oh yes, do I have pets?!! I've got a gorgeous blue merle collie/jack russell cross dog with the most beautiful blue eyes ever called Poppy. She's my best friend. I also have 10 (yes 10!) cats...they're all so cuddly and purry and Poppy mothers them all!

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
Scarves, hats and mittens but not ponchos...I'm not really a girly girl.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Socks, gloves, socks..... I love knitting cables. Oh and lace too!

13. What are you knitting right now?
My first pair of Monkey socks in scrummy sock yarn a friend dyed and gifted to me. Also a felted bag for my sister's friends birthday....and...my on going mitred blanket.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
Of course! It means so much to me when someone has hand made something for me...it's really special! Most of the things I knit are presents for other people.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
I'm a bamboo girl! They're so warm and they help my hands no end(if I haven't used them the day before I can tell as my hands claw and are very painful) I love to use dpn's esp for socks(not the really tiny one's tho' as they're too short and I have to use 3mm and above as my tension is very tight) but I will use circulars for garments at times(I own 7mm and 10mm addi ciculars that I use for bags).

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
Yes both! In fact I have 2 swifts!!!! I use them all a lot.

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
A blue acrylic cardigan my mum bought me the yarn for when I was 18...I used to knit in the halls of residence as a student but had to stop as I ran out of yarn!!!

18. What is your favorite holiday?
Probably Spring Bank holiday or May day as it usually means we are going on our first camping trip of the year!!!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
Yarn! Vintage knitting stuff and esp anything woolly or sheepy.....Oh and cats!

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
I love trying new yarn(esp by dyers etc) and all the other amazing hand painted/space dyed yarn and fibre that's so difficult to get in the UK. I subscribe to Simply Knitting...I really like it as its very light hearted and the projects aren't always expensive ones.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
I'm trying to improve my spinning at the moment so I can start knitting socks or gloves with it...my 'practise' spinning is slowly becoming a mitred blanket for camping. I'm also trying to get to grips with dyeing techniques.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
Yes,yes!!!! I'm a UK5 i think that's a European 38...not sure with US sizes tho' sorry!

23. When is your birthday?
29th January...I'm an Aquarian

24. I'm in the queue for Ravelry....So when that comes through I will update...

Phew! that's done.

I'm back after a very busy week!

2007-08-05T16:56:00.000Z

First of all I'd like to thank everyone who has thought of us this week regarding Marley. It is been hard but we are trying to concentrate on the other two kittens.
So let me introduce Lily. She's a lovely little girl and loves nothing better than sitting on your lap just cuddling....this may change when she starts running around. (its Bella's whiskers on the pic)

This is Squeeze. He can be a very loud squeaker when he wants to be. He's destined to be a very loving and playful cat. They are both gorgeous kittens and it's lovely watching them grow up.

This week has been pretty hectic. Tuesday night J and I went to see the Scissor Sisters at the MEN in Manchester. They were absolutely amazing even better than last years gig!!!!

I booked Wednesday off work as I didn't think I'd have enough energy. So instead I had a lovely day with Chris. I gave her 'Nora', her fleece(I got it wrong in a previous post, Spot is my fleece) and some Wensleydale. I came back home laden with some yummy raspberry wool 4ply and black and white 4ply(for socks), aran cotton(for Presto Chango), orange Nova and Salsa!!!! As well as some pretend Kool Aid for dyeing. I started a pair of Monkeys while I was there. I must be one of the only people in Blogland that hasn't knitted any before! I'm doing them in some scrummy hand dyed yarn in blues, greens and yellows that was a gift from Angora Anne when I sent her a stretchy drive band. I have taken a photo but my camera batteries died on me before I could upload it.

Yesterday I decided to dye some yarn I have recently plied. Well, it started off that I wanted it to be green and something else but it ended up with a mix of green and cherry. Instead of being a pinky red it is a very strong red red. J has already informed me she wants socks out of the yarn. Don't know how it will stand up to being socks, but we will see. Good job I managed to spin 300yds ish...and we like ankle rather than longer socks!!

Today I took advantage of the warm weather and decided to wet block the Lunar moth shawl.
I did it outside using some spongy floor jigsaw pieces, I picked up from Asda a while ago, as a base.
I'm pleased with the results, just hope mum likes it as it's her birthday present(which was last Thursday!)
Boring bit.......knitted in Fyberspates Scrumptious(100g) on 8mm needles(suggests smaller but my tension is a problem) Pattern is Lunar Moth...sorry still don't know how to link. I'd def do it again as it's a nice quick, portable project.

Some sad news..

2007-08-01T17:06:00.000Z

Thank you to everyone that has sent their thoughts to Marley.
I'm really sad to say Marley passed away on Saturday afternoon.
He was actually improving until Friday evening when he was fitting every few minutes. We didn't expect him to be with us by Saturday.
In the afternoon I picked him up for a cuddle. Bella was beside herself as she couldn't do anything to help him. He then passed away very peacefully in my hands. It was so good to see him relaxed. We already miss him so much...I'd even found Poppy cuddled up with the kitts looking after them! He is now buried under our apple tree, which is a favourite spot of the cats. He may have only lived for two weeks but he had such a lovely personality and touched our lives for the better. We all loved him very much.
Marley you will never be forgotten.

Marley

2007-07-26T12:24:00.000Z

I've not posted sooner as one of the kittens(the grey one) Marley has developed inhalation pneumonia. We noticed that he wasn't growing at the same rate as the other two..they're real fatties now! So we started to hand feed him. I was able to leave work early on Monday and had a family outing to the vets...with Bella, Maisie and 3 kitts!! Liz, the vet, agreed that it was pneumonia. Marleys chest was pretty noisy and he's also fitting as well! She also said we had done the right thing intervening and hand feeding him. So he now has to have 1 drop of antibiotics a day he's that tiny.

George had exactly the same problem. We nursed and fed him for a week until he could see properly and was strong enough in himself. So we are hoping Marley will be the same. Either way we are going to keep him. He's such a sweetie and appears to be getting a tiny bit stronger every day.

As for piccies.....The top two skeins are light coloured Ryeland, the next is darker coloured Ryeland(I separated 1 batch of fleece). All three weigh about 60g and are about 150yd each, so consistency is def improving. The bottom skein is my 1st Koolaid dye attempt, I really pleased with the colours and strength of them.

The Luna moth shawl is finished! I haven't blocked it yet...G has offered her house for this so I don't get all the cats trying to walk/pad/sleep/scratch it!!!!

We are Mummies again!

2007-07-15T15:25:00.001Z

This morning Bella gave birth to 3 beautiful kittens!
We have one a smokey grey, one tabby and one tabby and white...whenever she's had kitts before they've been all black or black and white. (sorry bout the blurred photo)
Mother and babies are doing great. Maisie and Izzy have assigned themselves chief protectors of Bella and the kitts!
I went back to work this week and it was really busy! One of my friends there has been having a clear out and gave me 2 knitting books....one of which is Rowan no.7!!!!!!
I also had a really good bargain on Thursday....I went to town to get Sirdar Early Arrivals no.1 as I've misplaced my copy and I've got 2 unfinished cardis that need to be done. Anyway, my LYS didn't have a copy in stock but they did remind me that I still had some Rowan Plaid put away(from a previous sale). So I decided to get some of it. Well, originally it was 3.95 in the sale but when it was rang through the till it came up at 1.95!!!! OMG a Rowan cardi for less than 20 quid!!!!!!!
I've started a mitred square blanket using my hand spun. I thought it would be a good way to use all the odds and sods esp. since my earlier stuff is spun too tightly. The bottom layer is done and I thought I'm going to have to keep a steady stream of yarn coming. So I plied up a bobbin this morning and then had a play with some of my newly acquired Kool aid(from Woolfest). I'm soooooooo impressed....I used grape as a base and then sprinkled strawberry over the top...it's come out better than I hoped! A lovely deep plummy colour with patches of purple...pics to follow........(its drying at the mo)
Well not much shawl has been done and I've realised that I have to make a felted bag for my sisters mate...both have to be done before August!
I think I'd better get knitting.......

Fuzzy Wuzzy was a..........Psychedelic Cat??

2007-07-09T10:38:00.000Z

Meet Fuzzy..our latest feline addition (although Bella is due to give birth any time).
Chris emailed me Friday evening to ask if I would like to do some needle felting at the guild meeting on Saturday. So J was a darling and offered to take me and pick me up...driving thro' Liverpool is not a nice experience due to the amount of traffic and roadworks. I met up with Chris about 10.25 and had a fab day. It was great to see her and give her her Woolfest goodies(minus a fleece from a sheep called Spot!) and birthday pressies.
I was so pleased she was happy with her haul...I felt pretty good as I'd managed to get her the only 72'' niddy noddy that I saw in the whole show!!!!!

Chris in return gave me some turquoise Jitterbug that I'd asked her to get me from Colinette...and she gave me some pinky/maroon as well to say thanks for getting the things on her shopping list at Woolfest...AND some Ryeland/Shetland fleece (I love spinning Ryeland as its not to coarse and not too soft but can be worn next to the skin).

THANK YOU SO MUCH CHRIS FOR A LOVELY DAY AND BEING A GOOD MATE X

This is the 1st repeat of the shawl I've started for mum's birthday pressie. It's the Lunar moth pattern done in Fyberspates Scrumptious(which lives up to its name!). As you all know I am a very tight knitter so after doing a tension square instead of using the 5.5mm needles required I am using 8mm!!!!

Yesterday we went to St Helens festival. Now J and I always make a bee line for the craft tent, which to be honest is usually people selling stuff that they've bought rather than made themselves...so you can imagine how excited I was to find 2 stalls that had made their own stuff from scratch. The first was a 'knitting and badge' shop. They had made crocheted brooches, badges, buttons etc. The second was a handmade soap stall. I have made my own soap before and love it but I've lost my Melinda Coss book somewhere :( so haven't done any for years.

I also saw a Girl Guiding stall and had a chat to the lady there. My mum (she has been in guiding since before she married my dad!) has been trying to get me to help with a brownie pack for years. So she was over the moon when I rang her to let her know I've volunteered to be a unit helper! ...I've explained I can't commit to weekly meets due to health but I thought how good would it be to encourage children to do crafts(my mum's brownies love it!) plus I love camping and pack holidays!

So all in all I've had a really good weekend although I'm shattered now!

Here is George. He tried his hardest to get in the other photos so he just had to have his own taken!

Woolfest Anyone???

2007-07-04T16:31:00.001Z

This is what we were greeted with last Thursday when we reached our campsite(not our tent).
The rain and the wind were dreadful to say the least...we didn't think we were going to survive the night!!!
I even started to knit some gloves it was that cold!

But the Friday brought blue skies and sun! We had already decided to go to Woolfest that day instead of Saturday. Look what we found...two beautiful alpacas...this photo reminds me of the 'push me pull me' from Doctor Doolittle!!!!
Our first port of call was the fleece sale. This is me having a good nosey round. I ended up with a coloured Ryeland/Shetland cross and a Mainland Blue.
While I was spending to my hearts content J went off and photoed sheep.......

There were lots more but blogger won't let me put them on :(

We decided to go and have a rest and a drink about half way round...and who did we bump into but Artis-Anne and Kath!!! It was so strange as we had never seen them before and just took a stab at asking them were they them!!!

This is my haul:-

dye kit and 2 skeins of sock yarn from DT craft and design

Alpaca, Gotland, Mulberry silk and green tie dyed felting yarn from Bev at knitting for fun

Sock stuff from Freyallyn

Blue, green, purple and orange fibre, sock yarn and 'scrumptious' from Jeni at Fyberspates

Alpaca/merino dk from the Natural Dye Studio

Wensleydale fibre an also some angora from a rabbit called Zorin

They are some more bits and pieces but they can't be photoed as they're for pressies!

We left a very wet Lake District on Sunday and headed to Llanrug in North Wales.
Yesterday we did our 'rescue' bit. A lamb had been parted from its mother onto a road. So we herded it to safety(and its mother) only to find on our way back the same lamb was on the road again!!!
We came back today and I'm now off work until next Wednesday...I need it to recover...a nice hot bath is definitely in order!!!

Fathers Day

2007-06-17T18:05:00.000Z

I've had such a lovely day.
Both my sister and I decided to surprise my Dad and Grandad by visiting our parents house today....and as an extra special treat I took Poppy along, although I don't know who had the best time Dad, Grandad or Poppy!!!!? Anyway they loved their cards and presents and I also made sure neither of them did any washing up.
I took some patterns over to show Mum as suggestions to shrug/cardis she could knit. They are going on a cruise in October and she wants to be able to cover her shoulders in the evening......my sis and I also quizzed her without her knowing as to whether she would wear a shawl at all. Luckily she said she definately would, so as her birthday is in August I think it will be a perfect pressie!!!!! I'm going to look for suitable yarn at Woolfest but anyone have any ideas to a pattern that won't take too long????????
Please bear in mind I've never knitted a shawl before!
Yesterday, however, was a different story. J had a bad asthma attack at lunchtime, she normally has her asthma under control but this came from nowhere. So I took her to A+E at about 2pm. She didn't want to go in an ambulance but regretted it later. We left at 7pm with a bag of tablets. She is much better, the doctor gave her some steroids to try and reduce the inflammation in her chest and so far so good. The good thing to come out of being at hospital for that long was I have now finished both sleeves for C's cardi/shrug!!! The staff thought it was really funny, J on a trolley and me sitting next to her knitting(we were in a corridor to start with so you can imagine...)
Just got the 2 fronts and the collar to do....just hope I've enough yarn!

Animals on my knee!

2007-06-14T16:49:00.000Z

Here's my main man Captain. He came in last night very wet. He immediately jumped on my knee for a cuddle and stayed there, despite the fact that I was spinning at the time!!! ...I managed to get A to take a photo as I don't think anyone would believe me if I told them.

I've not been a very good blogger recently. This has been due to going to court on Thursday of last week with G to support her while she gave evidence for a case. We got into Liverpool before 10 and didn't get home until gone 6!! So as you can imagine I've been on the tired side to say the least. It has really wiped me out and I'm still trying to recover now.

I managed to work on Friday(I don't know how!) and the weekend was spent spinning and knitting while J cleared out the back bedroom. Bless her, she has put all my stash together in one cupboard for me so I can get to it easier. I went to work on Monday, and Tuesday went out with G to a garden centre. I've made a promise to myself that I have to go out on at least 1 of my days off each week. So G and I raided the 'not quite dead yet' section and came back with a blue rhododendron each for 2 quid and a 2 bags of gladioli bulbs for 50p(they always remind me of my Grandma as she liked to have them in the house as cut flowers) as well as a few other goodies!!!! Today I've just got back from G's after making Fathers Day cards.

I can not wait for a lie in this weekend, I'm sooooooo tired.

I'm very sorry if I've not replied to any emails this week but my head has just not been with it :(

On the plus side it's only 2 weeks until we drive up to the Lakes to go to Woolfest!!!! We have treated ourselves to a new air mattress that is higher off the ground than our old one.

I can't wait and J seems to be looking forward to it too!!!

Here's my new needles

2007-06-04T18:33:00.000Z

Well here they are in all their glory...... My new needles from LaughingMouse. The photo doesn't do them justice as they are sooooo smooth. Thank you again LaughingMouse they're gorgeous.

Another wow element to this post is that I'm still feeling 'normal'. So much so I even had my 1st alcoholic drink in absolutely ages on Saturday!!!! AND didn't have a hangover Sunday...how good is that.

Today I've been to work and yes, I am tired and sore but I felt that good at lunchtime that I went for a walk. I ended up at Aberkahns(not sure of the spelling) and much to my surprise they now sell Regia sock yarn!!!!!!! I was very restrained and thought I'd better knit up my stash first........

I've started the shrug for C and am half way thro' the back so must get back to that....

AAGGGHHHH I'v been tagged!

2007-06-02T15:52:00.000Z

I thought I'd avoided being tagged quite nicely. So thanks to Laughingmouse here goes.....

1. I was never allowed pets as a child with the exception of a fish called Debbie and a caterpillar called Important!? So I think I've more than made up for that now with 10 cats and a dog!
2. I can bite my toenails.
3. I worked in a whelk factory before going to university, packing whelks for 2 pound an hour! This was to save up for college.
4. I am Mel C.....Spice Girls?!
5. I moved in with J after only four weeks of meeting her!!!
6. My mum is a Brown owl(brownies) and my dad was a scout leader. I went on brownie and scout camps as a child. So I was a female at scout camp well before girls were allowed to join!
7. As a teenager I was a 'goth'....despite the fact I was told I was too happy to be one.

There its done.....I think everyone I know has already done this so I don't have anyone to tag :(
Right onto this week...
I've been at work as well as going out on BOTH my days off. I went out on Tuesday 3 times in the car on my own!! and on Thursday I had another fab bargain hunting day out with Chris...Thanks Chris for a lovely day.
Tonight we are off to a wedding. One of my friends at work has got married today. After the weird weather we have had this week I'm so glad it's been nice for her today.
AND I've finished another pair of socks for E. I made myself knit them up(they're knee length in DK)before doing any spinning...so guess what I'm doing tomorrow!!
Question is which fibre do I spin first?esp as I received my Fyberspates order for some dyed BFL yesterday and it's really yummy!!!

Another fab parcel...

2007-05-28T13:23:00.000Z

Last week I received another fab parcel!
It was from LaughingMouse(my great mate from Stitchlinks). Inside was a kitty card(sooooo cute), a ball of alpaca yarn(yummy) and also some knitting needles she had made!!! Unfortunately no photos as the camera is playing up. The needles are amazing...so original, rustic looking rather than commercial! I love them...thank you so much LaughingMouse you really made my day!
I returned back to work a week ago and wow does my body feel it! I'm really glad to be back and have enjoyed it even though I'm very tired now.
It does help having a 4 day weekend!!!!

I'm mobile!!!

2007-05-18T13:17:00.000Z

Well since my last post I've been much more mobile! Thank you to everyone that sent good wishes and kind thoughts, they were very much appreciated.
So I've still been off work this week trying to improve my back. I've even been doing some yoga, which I haven't done for a while!
I visited Chris(sorry not sure how to do links) on Monday. Yes, we chatted loads...that's actually an understatement. I think my nerves come out in the form of verbal diarrhoea!?
Anyway we went to her LYS which is closing down :( It's a real treasure trove. I managed to pick up..amongst other things... some pure wool dk(for my mates brothers socks) for 50p and 'Vintage Knits' for a pound!!!!! Yes you are reading correctly. I couldn't believe it. I think I spent about 26 pounds and came away with 2 big carrier bags FULL!!!! Thank you Chris for a lovely day.
I've also been playing with my spinning wheel, since my back will now allow me to do so(since Wednesday I think). I've spun up and Navajo plied some of my 'practice fleece' that Janet gave me. I was so surprised when I skeined it up earlier to see I've managed to get 134yds!!!...and its reasonably even. I'm so pleased, it also seems pretty balanced. That's just hanging and drying in the kitchen.
I've also spun(but not plied) some turquoise fleece Chris has given me. I spun it as it was rather than carding it and was pleased at how straight forward it was. So that's sitting on a bobbin waiting to ply.
I've also named my wheel.....AUDREY.....and she likes it too!!!! We are learning a lot together and enjoying it.
On the knitting front I'm half way thro' my second sock for my SP. I just need to get and do a few more things and then her final parcel can be sent.
Talking of parcels. I received a lovely parcel from my 'Sock Wars' assassin Isabelle in Sweden. We decided to do a sock yarn swap months ago. Anyway, my parcel contained 2 balls of rainbow yarn, some dark choccie and a gorgeous necklace which she had made for me. Its beautiful, all blues and greens with seed, tubular and felted beads! Thank you soooooo much.
Oh, I think J has decided the Conwy socks are hers as she's been wearing them to work this week!

I've just received a PURPLE parcel!!!!!

2007-05-10T12:04:00.000Z

Look what the postman has just delivered.......

A PURPLE parcel!!!!!!

...look what I found inside....

4oz wool(corriedale and romney), viscose, tussah silk, cut bombyx silk and tussah silk noil signature blend roving from Crosspatch Creations in Plum Loco......mmmmm yummy!

Burt's Bees healthy hand kit...I've always wanted to try this... yippeeeeeeeee

A lavender sachet bag...i lurrrrrvveeeee lavender.

Aura Cacia Lavender Harvest aromatherapy mineral bath...can't wait to use this!

Green and Blacks ginger organic dark choc...my fave!

Dagoba organic chocolate with lavender and blueberries....mmmmmmm sounds lovely, cant wait to try it!

Sunspire organic dark chocolate covered coffee beans....how did you know I love these.?!....I forgot to put it on my questionnaire!

2 packs of Pop Rocks popping candy...cool, I've not had popping candy for years!

A skein of...wait for it...drum roll.....Socks that Rock in Walking on the Wild Tide...this is a club colourway and not available to the general public so I feel really honored!

Also a gorgeous card too with yarn on the front. All this was wrapped up beautifully in lavender tissue paper and packed in a lavender box.

I feel sooooooo spoiled..it's really touched me :)

THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH KEYLIME PLY, you've made my day!

.........I now want my back to get better to spin the roving!

Thank you!

2007-05-08T20:48:00.000Z

I'd like to thank everyone for their good wishes regarding my back. I ended up in casualty earlier as I couldn't cope with it any longer. The staff were fantastic....even finding me a cubicle quickly so I could lie down! However the diagnosis has now been changed from inflamed disc to muscular. Now I'm happy it's nothing serious but it's still b@$$#y painful!!

I discovered, much to my relief that I can knit lying down! So here are the finished Conwy socks. I'm really pleased with them but if I knitted them again I would use a 'normal' toe decrease. The pattern asks for a k2tog 4 times evenly over the round and so produces a pointy toe. I don't know, maybe it'll grown on me!

Saturday we had our last day of sunshine for the time being. I decided to start to wash my fleece I was given. I knelt in the back garden and got the fleece out of the bag. My neighbour's children thought it was great..."...wool from a REAL sheep!!". It really tickled me.

Above is my makeshift drying rack for the small portion of fleece I washed........a broken maiden(clothes horse) over a washing basket. It worked great!..since then I've managed to wash the rest of it in small batches, so just waiting to be able to spin again to try it out!

I couldn't resist this photo of Maddy that J managed to get of her sunning and shading herself at the same time.

OW!

2007-05-03T09:50:00.000Z

Friday I felt a twinge in my mid back and thought nothing of it. Since Saturday I've been in what could be said rather a lot of pain to put it mildly. I tried to go to work Monday but was sent home after half an hour!
Managed to get an appointment with the emergency doctor on Monday night and he came to the conclusion I've got an inflamed/swollen disc !!!! aaagggghhhhh I really don't want that :(
Anyway due to the strong painkillers I take for my ME and fybromyalgia all he gave me was some diazepam to relax my muscles.....consequently I've been sleeping a lot!
Saw a GP from my practice on Tuesday and asked for a physio referral so I'm just waiting for that now.
Sorry for going on but I've not been able to do any spinning at all....and knitting has been difficult as I can't find a comfortable position to sit in. I've managed to knit a little bit and turned the heel and done most of the gusset decreases for my Conwy socks.
Anne...the Conwy pattern comes from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush....its really straight forward just a 4 row repeat(I only had to frog it as I didn't realise there were calf decreases...duh should have read the pattern properly!)
Right off to lie on the sofa........

What a nice weekend!

2007-04-29T17:06:00.000Z

First of all I'd like to thank everyone for your lovely comments about my spinning. Unfortunately I've not been able to spin this week as my darling cats have been playing with my wheel and so sprung my brake spring!!!!!!! I was not happy as you can imagine. Luckily Janet from the Threshing Barn got my order for two new ones to me on Saturday morning(I only ordered them on Friday mid morning!).... with fab customer service as always!

So I took the time to get cracking on my 'Conwy' socks. I've took a different aproach to these socks than normal by knitting them both at the same time...I've just got another 8 rounds to do on the one on the left to match the right one and then its onto the heel flaps. I've only knitted them to 6in in length as I tend to wear short socks.

We went to B&Q yesterday and bought some bedding plants to put in the front garden. So while J was busy putting them in I planted some tomato, pepper, courgette and dwarf green beans in the greenhouse. I've stuck to just 4 veg this year as it means I can still look after them even if I have a bad day!

I did it! I did it! I did it!

2007-04-24T11:15:00.000Z

This is it....my very first yarn that I have spun on my new wheel!!!!!!!!!

I havent a clue as to the type of fibre it is except that its wool....its something I bought on ebay ages ago that was dyed in ocean colours. I managed to get about 92 yards(not sure about the weight Im afraid)Im so chuffed...ok I know its a bit thick and thin but that will even out with practice.

I find spinning much easier with a wheel and my legs and arms haven't been as sore as I thought they might be....so fingers crossed it may help with the pain in the long run.

Iv got to say tho'......I love plying!!!!!!!!!

My new toy.....

2007-04-22T18:01:00.000Z

After all the waiting...here she is...my new(to me) spinning wheel.

She's about 15 years old and did belong to a lady that treasured her until she got Altziemers and so was unable to spin. So I'm now the proud owner of one Ashford traditional spinning wheel ..plus...a pair of curved carders, a large niddy noddy, a lazy kate and the Ashford book of spinning and Janet has also given me a big bag of fleece to get stuck into(I cant remember the breed of sheep it came from tho!). We went to pick her up from the Threshing Barn today where Dave had given her a 'service' and while i was there i got some purpley dyed texel and a pressie for my sp10. J got stuck in and bought some beads and also some free range eggs from the farm.

On the pic you can just see Maisie on the front left, Bella on the right and Zippy in the back ground.

finished at last!

2007-04-20T21:55:00.000Z

They are done at last........the long awaited 'jaywalkers'.

I don't know whether I'm more of a frogger or a tinker with the amount iv done with these!

J proudly wore them to work on Thursday and apparently had a lot of approving comments!!!!

Iv also completed a washcloth pattern for Betsan from stitchlinks. I had originally designed it to be about 6in square but she then asked me to make it 10in square. So I spent Thursday test knitting my pattern (as well as lots of washing as the weather was so nice)before emailing that off...I don't know which took longer... the knitting or the typing..(my typing isn't very fast).

Iv now started using the yarn that Ali dyed for me from my sock yarn swap. I'm knitting 'Conwy' from Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. I would have had a photo by now but had forgot to decrease for the calf(I'm used to knitting shorter socks!). So then I had to frog back all the rows Id managed to do at work today (whilst suffering with a migraine)...typical!

Looking forward to Sunday as we are off to Staffordshire to hopefully get my new toy!!!!

Another hot day!

2007-04-15T10:54:00.000Z

Here is a pic of Poppy enjoying the hot sun with her 'blue bone'...you cant see it on this but she has the most striking blue eyes Iv ever seen on a dog. Shes beautiful but then I am biased!!!
This is Maddy my mischief maker! Every day she visits the neighbours houses. If she doesn't go there we have people asking if shes OK! She was hiding amongst some garden rubbish and I wanted to take a photo of her there to play 'spot Maddy' but she moved before I could get the camera!
This is the result of J's hard work over the last 2 weekends. All the bricks n stuff are things either we have recycled or are reclaimed.
Here is the other side of the front garden. we did this last year so this time it was just a case of tidying up. I'm a person that hunts through the half dead plants in b&q and garden centres. last year i got a rhododendron plant for a couple of quid and now it has buds on it!!!

Yesterday I had my birthday day out with my mum. We went to see 'Tuppence to cross the Mersey' at the Liverpool Empire. It was one of the first books I read when I was younger so it was really touching. The musical was really good the only thing was it did finish abruptly which was a shame. We then went to mums and had tea. It was a really lovely day...I even managed to knit some 'jaywalker' on the train!!!!

OMG!!

2007-04-12T12:30:00.000Z

omg i cant believe it....
i rang my first choice of campsite (for woolfest) on tuesday and explained we would like two nights with electric.....
1. they have the space
2. i told her we are 2 females(in case they have a problem with it) and she said that was fine!!!!!

its VERY hard to find a campsite that will allow us to camp being 2 females. so im still in shock!
iv even met a straight couple that was turned away from 1 site because they didnt have children!...the sad thing being is that they couldnt have any.

saw E yesterday at work and her brother loves his new socks! and C loved the gloves i knitted her as a pressie. shes seen my debbie bliss shrug/cardi from simply soft and wants me to knit it for her......
meanwhile im ploughing on with my second jaywalker...why is it im finding it so easy to mess up such an easy pattern??..iv had to frog it twice already!

Easter sock swap..THANK YOU ALI !

2007-04-09T12:43:00.000Z

i received this amazing package on saturday from my swap partner Ali...who happens to be a mate from http://www.stitchlinks.com/

she was also the host for this swap.

she went well beyond requirements...i received:-

a bunny biscuit receipe

thorntons easter chocolate

hand dyed (by Ali) matchmaker 4ply

and a copy of 'knitting on the road'

thank you so much Ali x

i think she must be a mind reader as iv been umming and ahhing over this book for the last week! the yarn is gorgeous..not quite as bright as in the photo but as can be seen iv already wound it into centre pull balls to use asap! its going to knit beautifully as its variegated dark pinky thro to pale pink. just got to get my second jaywalker done now.....

J spent saturday laying our new living room floor..which is nearly 4mx6m! the cats did lots of 'helping' ! but it is now down and we have a cat and dog proof floor...no scratches in it after 24hrs! it is also waterproof(its cushioned lino) which was a big requirement...laminate is not so we discovered(even the stuff you can get for kitchens and bathrooms)!!! we are really pleased with it and the animals like it too!

just got to get some skirting board on now and then the whole downstairs is done!

Fingerless Gloves

2007-04-06T16:09:00.000Z

these are the fingerless gloves iv done for my sisters friend. they probably dont look very exciting in the picture but in 'real' life they are so nice! theyr done using knitpicks ambrosia in mint knitted using my own pattern. im really pleased with them i just hope she like them.

as i sewed in the ends at work, my colleagues saw them and iv already got an order!

my mate E loved the socks so we just have to see if they help her brother...fingers crossed they do as it will be great to have helped him.

J has been very busy in the garden...shes 'built' a pavedish area down the side of the drive. its a difficult area to do anything with as its more of a slanting hill. so shes covered it with reclaimed bricks and broken flags so hopefully that will sort it out so we dont have to worry about it.(ill take a pic when shes done)

on the new toy front...i will be getting it in a week or so......watch this space!

THANK YOU SECRET PAL!

2007-04-03T21:05:00.000Z

Received a parcel this morning from my secret pal containing 'One Skein' by Leigh Radford. Im so pleased. It was the only knitting book I actually wanted and now I own it....good job Iv finished the socks for E's brother(top left) and the fingerless mitts(pic another time) for my sisters mate as Im dying to start something from it, nothing too big as i want to leave this weekend free for other things.....Thank you so much Keylime Ply xx

middle pic is of 1st jaywalker as modelled by J...still got the other to do!

the pic on the right is Captain(my main man) not looking too happy due to the flash...

im still here....

2007-03-31T08:57:00.000Z

iv managed to work this week and not a lot else!
my mate C (i car share with) has driven all this week to work...thank goodness! i have had a TENS machine strapped to each leg most of the time. it seems to have more of an effect than on my back. i thank my friends so much for suggesting i give a TENS a try, it really has helped.
im hoping to get my 2nd sock done for my mate E and then i can start on the gloves for my sisters mate and get them finished before Easter.
fingers crossed this time next week i may have a new toy...............

and theres more.......

2007-03-23T19:35:00.000Z

ok....i know i promised some pics of the fleece and merino id spun so here it is at last!

the top 2 are the greeny fleece i got from the threshing barn....i managed 60+metres but it is going to need plying. i have some merino n other bluey fleece coming from ebay so ill just have to see what is suitable.

the bottom skein is the very first proper atempt at spinning using my drop spindle...its a purple/blue/white mix of merino, and i was so pleased with myself as i managed to spin 17+metres out of bits i carded together at my spinning lesson!

iv got some gorgeous chocolate brown as well as mixed colours of alpaca to spin as well as some merino and also merino and mulberry silk but iv been too tired by the time the cats have gone to bed.

work was great today...i was back in the lab but i did give my TENS machine a good bashing!

i think, as i have 2 of those machines, that i may have to hook one up to each leg n see how i get on. my problem is that the pain moves around to different places so its just gonna be trial and error.

as for my arms luckily knitting still seems to do the trick...so im just hoping......that when....and only when.........i get my back pay and so get my double treadle spinning wheel that it may help my legs in the same way!

some piccies at last!

2007-03-22T15:31:00.000Z

hurrah iv been able to use the camera! 1st up is a 'crash ur stash' swap from lizandjuan. she sent me some knitpicks ambrosia...80%alpaca 20%cashmere..mmmmmmmmm..the colours are perfect thank u so much x
next is what iv pinched from my mums stash! she loved her bag(plus flowers) and her lunch that me and my sis treated her and dad to. this yarn is all 100% wool(i hope!) so iv a few designs in my head for felting that this will be used for!
after we went for lunch on tuesday we went as hoped to voirrey embroideries and i picked up 2 skeins of debbie bliss maya (which is discontinued) for half price! iv always loved this colour way n just had to have it..its oranges,lemon n pink...yes pink! i know, but i like it if its in with other things.
talking of pink im getting to like raspberry too! i think its just the pastel n neon versions that im not very good with...
heres a pic of Twiggy just to break up the yarn pics...shes still tiny but putting weight on steadily. i dont think it helps that we keep comparing her size to Maisie..the one with the stumpy front right leg and she is 10 days older than Twiggs..and a lot bigger!

this is what arrived in the post yesterday and was a lovely surprise after yet another very tiring day at work...its a half finished jumper done in superwash wool...its such a gorgeous colour and the pattern in fab(like a basket weave)...the only prob is i dont think it will fit me. so im gonna have to frog it which i dont want to do as the work gone in to it is amazing.

this was from my mate gardenfairy...shes more of a cross stitcher and so sent me this to finish for myself, along with a gorgeous kitten card and some really cute cat stickers.

thanx gardenfairy its gorgeous x

whew im done...well apart from my fyberspates sock club yarn which i dont want to post on here yet incase any1 hasnt received theirs....ill just say its really squishy n yummy!

oh also my secret pal 10 has been in touch..she sounds fab...hiya Keylime_ply!

right off to have a rest to get some energy(its in very short supply at the mo) to go to work tomorrow....

skein winder(s)!

2007-03-17T13:38:00.000Z

well iv gone from not having a skein winder to now having 2!!!
i went to the post office on tuesday to pick up the one id bought off ebay on sunday n there was also another parcel there for me.....the winder that had got lost in the post in feb!!!!!!!
so im now the proud owner of a brand spanking new one that clamps to the table or door and an older version that has a weighted base that just sits on the table or floor.
so i had great fun winding 4 skeins of yarn last night from an order id received from Bev...2 skeins of 100% tiedyed wool in lilacy purples and also 2 skeins(1 i already had before) of banana yarn. im busy knitting this into a bag to be felted for my mum for mothers day.....
luckily i have a few days grace as im only seeing her on tuesday as my sis and i are taking her out for a suprise lunch and then a trip to voirrey.....mmmmmmm lots of stitching things!
health wise things have been pretty crap. if my boss hadnt changed my duties i dont think i would have been able to go in this week. iv been very tired and my 'electric' pain is coming back pretty strong...so rather than dwell on it im just trying to knit thro' it!
oh also iv had 2 orders this week...1 for a pair of fingerless gloves(my own pattern) for my sisters mate and 1 for some 100% wool socks for my mate at works brother...he has cerebral palsy and has poor circulation so some wool socks should help a bit.
so better get back to my knitting....

my poor skein winder

2007-03-11T18:39:00.000Z

today at approx 5pm my skein winder died......
j tried unsuccesfully to revive it with the addition of hinges(it was 3 armed) but itmade no difference.
so my darling skein winder died peacefully.
it wound many a gorgeous skein of yarn and will be sadly missed.............

aaagggghhhhhhhhh what am i gonna do now?????
j wants me to buy one off ebay but last time i did that it got lost in the post...so i just dont know.

this week has been weird. iv been back at work and so consequently very tired. iv been zombified due to the fatigue and also the drugs for pain(its been pretty bad this weekend).
iv casted on and knitted to the heel for a pair of jaywalkers in regia multi ringel. its really bright colours...the zig zagging looks fab! i still dont know how i managed to knit so much!!!...j has already decided that this pair are for her and they will be her 'pride' socks...theyr almost rainbow coloured.
im really looking forward to this months yarn from fyberspates sock club. last months was a reddy/pinky merino n i love it(even though im not keen on pink) i stroke it when i go into my yarn box under the coffee table...and thats just part of the stash!
j has been a superstar laying cushioned lino in the dining room part of the kitchen...the bit where the animals eat and sleep.
im knackered now so im off for a hot bath........

suprise!!!

2007-03-07T18:59:00.000Z

my darling j turned up a day early n knocked on my sisters door on saturday instead of sunday. it was lovely i had missed her sooooooo much.

my sis got back sat night, she had had a fantastic time. we decided to go out for lunch on sunday and introduced j to a carvery...still cant believe she had never had one!!!!

we got back early sun evening after an awful drive home in the belting rain.

last night i decided to spin some of my hand dyed fleece id bought....i now have 20+ metres of greeny grey yarn!!! and still got the other half of it left to do!

went back to work today, it was good but very busy....

so im absolutly shattered!

above is a pic of the things i bought while i was in notts...the greeny fleece is in the top right hand corner.....

an amazing few days!

2007-03-02T13:25:00.000Z

amazing is how i describe the last few days!
wednesday i went to 'knit n chat' at Yarn in notts......www.yarn-in-notts.co.uk
it was lovely just sitting round with like minded people having a coffee and of course knitting! i love going to things like that(just wish we had something at home...i would organise something but i dont think id have the energy long term) meeting like minded people, seeing what projects theyr doing etc...it was from going to the same session in sept last year that i saw the shaped edged jacket some1 was knitting n i thought iv gotta do it 4 me!..i hadnt even seen debbie bliss yarn b4 then let alone knitted with it.this time i ended up buying the rialto pattern book some yarn 1 for sewing up my jacket n 1 to knit a design thats in my head with beads(i also bought!)i didnt realise how easy beading is!!!
then after going back for some lunch i went over to visit bev from www.knitting4fun.com
her house is amazing, she has one room just dedicated to yarn and crafts...iv even took pics on my phone to show j as i dont think she will believe me! well i was there most of the afternoon...bev does a lot of felting and her handbags are out of this world! so of course i just had to buy some of her felting yarn(of which iv already done my bag it just needs felting now) some circulars some alpaca spinning fibre and of course the thing that drew me to her in the 1st place...banana silk yarn...yes banana! its gorgeous.
yesterday bev picked me up in the morning n along with her mum n friend we went to
www.threshingbarn.com
and visited janet there. words cant describe how u feel walking into her 'shop'
its FULL of all kinds of craft items that people and janet have made!(janet has a farm n the shop is next door)...u dont know what to look at first, put it this way u could be there a week n still find something new. and then u go upstairs.......along with the beads and soap ingredients there is a vast amount of yarn from the fancy to hand spun n dyed!
there are 3 spinning wheels ....and janets work experience girl(lydia) gave me a quick lesson on n ashford traditional...i found it difficult to move my foot at the right time so this fuels my desire for a traveller as its double treadle....i made some yarn!!!!! AND the best bit is janet is a supplier of ashford and louet wheels and bits!!! so iv told her as soon as my back pay comes in ill be down(shes only an hour away from me) for my ashford traveller!!!!!
i ended up coming away with 2 dyed bats of carded wool in greeny colours(my fave), 2 x100g of bluefaced leicester..1 natural n 1 black/grey...im intending to spin these gorgeous colours together and some ceramic fairtrade cat buttons to put on my next felted bag..as well as a pressie for a friend but cant mention what as she reads my blog!!!
i feel so lucky to have had such a fantastic time these last few days..being at yarn n then meeting bev n then janet...i feel iv met some amazing people that are so enthusiastic and passionate about their crafts.so rand j and mum and told them we are gonna have to start doing crafty things together....
today, im having a rest!!!!

secret pal 10 questionaire

2007-02-27T19:54:00.000Z

ok im new to this so pls forgive me if i make a mistake!

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
i love natural fibres be that wool, alpaca, cotton etc
What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
im not keen on acrylics although it comes in handy for the animals beds!!!!

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in?
my long needles are in a very long red(with kittens on ...aaahhhhh) pencil case type thing that they came in when i bought them back in 1993, my short ones(20cm) and circulars are in a black magnetic closure clutch bag and my dpn's in a narrow make up bag along with the rest of my bits and bobs i carry with me(sewing needles, scissors etc)

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced?
according to my mum she taught me to knit when i was 4!! so that makes it 28 yrs ago! id say i was an advanced intermediate as iv still not really done any beadwork but im always up for a challenge!

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
unfortunately no

5. What's your favorite scent?
fresh smells...oranges..sea air. also relaxing aromatherapy...lavender etc
i do like vanilla but it gives me really bad headaches so i have to avoid it

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy?
oh yes!! i absolutely adore green and black dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), i like ginger and orange things too

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin?
i cross stitch, iv got 2 sewing machines(even tho theyv not been used for a bit) so u could say i can machine sew, i can crochet but have no idea what stitches im doing!..i must get my book out and rectify that!!!, i can embroider and have been known to make the odd card or 2.
and yes i do spin, with a drop spindle for the moment but im due some serious back pay when the NHS decides how much i should be being payed and so im gonna buy a wheel as a treat to myself

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
i like anything from classical to heavy rock with a bit of punk thrown in to add colour! i used to be a goth if that helps?
i recently saw the scissor sisters and kylie
the only thing i cant stand is the 'duh! duh! duh! duh!' dance(?) music thats around at the mo as well as the cover versions theyr doing of things
i havent a clue about the mp3s im sorry ...i tend to listen to cds when im driving

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand?
i love the darker end of the spectrum...greens blues purple dark reds dark orange....however i really HATE pink!!!! although when its in space yarn i like it and i absolutley lurve space dyed and hand painted yarns

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
i live with my female partner and step son(16)....oh yes do i have pets?!! iv got a gorgeous blue merle collie/jack russell cross dog with the most beautiful blue eyes ever called poppy. shes my bestest friend in the world. i also have 10 (yes 10!) cats...theyr all so cuddly and purry and poppy mothers them all!

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos?
scarves, hats and mittens but not ponchos...im not really a girly girl

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
socks, gloves, socks.....

13. What are you knitting right now?
a pair of fingerless gloves for me for a change! although i may be doing something else real soon after i visit the LYS in nottingham tomorrow

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts?
of course! it means so much to me when some1 has hand made something for me...its really special!

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic?
im a bamboo girl! theyr so warm and they help my hands no end(if i havent used them or knitted the day b4 i can tell as my hands claw and are very painful) i love to use dpn's esp for socks but i will use circulars for garments at times

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift?
both! although my swift is very poorly at the moment and i dont think its future is looking very good..however my partner has bought me a 'new to me' one from ebay, so im just waiting for it to arrive. i love using both of them..i dont know what i did without them!

17. How old is your oldest UFO?
a blue cardigan my mum bought me the yarn for when i was 18...i used to knit in the halls of residence as a student but had to stop as i ran out of yarn!!!

18. What is your favorite holiday?
probably sping bank holiday or may day as it usually means we are going on our first camping trip of the year!!!

19. Is there anything that you collect?
yarn! old patterns,vintage knitting stuff, anything woolly or sheepy.....

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
im after a copy of 'one skein', i love trying new yarn(esp by dyers etc), im intrigued by socks that rock and all the other amazing hand painted/space dyed yarn thats so difficult to get in the uk
i subscribe to simply knitting...i really like it as its very light hearted and the projects arent always expensive ones.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn?
knitting with beads as iv a design in my head that would look fab done with beads

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements?
yes,yes,yes!!!! im a uk5 i think thats a european 38...not sure with us sizes tho sorry!

23. When is your birthday?
29th january...im an aquarian

whew!
im gonna get a coffee....

"an L of a night"...

2007-02-25T11:25:00.000Z

how fab...
im sitting in nottingham recovering from last night. we got down here yesterday afternoon and after frantically dying each others hair(i am now dark brown) we went to nottingham playhouse for "L of a night!"
wow is all i can say. weve never been to a lesbian night before...being stuck in the little town of St Helens... and u could say we were blown away! iv never been in a room with so many other gay women, well apart from the scissor sisters gig in november! ...i counted 3 men in the whole audience, and i think at least 1 of them was gay! i came very close to winning the 'longest hair in the audience'....mine comes just past my shoulders!!!!
first of all there were a band called 'greymatter', we really liked them they reminded me of 'all about eve'...then a comedienne called claire somerville(prob got that wrong) and she was cool. then after the interval...yes we do get intervals at these type of things!!!....there was a singer/songwriter al start...she was fab....and last but not least...omg.....sue perkins!!!!!! iv never laughed soooooooo much! my cheeks are still aching a bit now from all the laughing i did!
i just wish things were put on like this close to home...yes i know i live 1/2hr from both liverpool and manchester but itd be nice just to hop on a bus instead of having to worry bout driving!
my darling J has just gone home(shes got work in the morning) so im left cat sitting with my sisters 2 gorgeous cats. its very quiet as im so used to more that 2 sets of feet running around..still theyr very cuddly n purry.
so what to do now???
hmmmmmmmmm...knitting any1??!!!!!

stash find

2007-02-22T13:22:00.000Z

i was naughty last night, instead of going to bed early as i intended i decided it was time to root thro the other part of my stash.....
it was def worth it i found..
fyberspates sock yarn id been looking for in green/pink/white
regia sock yarn id forgotton i had in rainbow stripes
more fyberspates sock yarn...cant u tell i love fyberspates!!!...in pink/orange
some rowan felted tweed in a gorgeous purple id bought to make a cabled hat n then frogged
my drop spindle
and some merino id carded together at my spinning class...
so guess what i did last night?!!!!
now i have some purple/blue/white hand spun yarn done by me!
so just got to skein it up n set the twist......pics to follow(cameras playing up)
right off to watch waking the dead and get that sock done!

im tired!

2007-02-21T21:18:00.000Z

went to work today and it was fab!!! iv now been in my new role for a week now (i only work 3 days a week) and despite being very tired from yesterday i managed to get all my work done without having to keep asking for help!
i even got some of my sock done at lunchtime....only another 35 rows till the toe shaping. im making hard work of this one as it normally only takes me 2 evenings if that to do a trainer sock but with being tired its taking longer.
so tomorrow iv nothing planned except a long lie in and a date with my sock n waking the dead from last weekend!!!...oh n i may even do some housework(we already did the heavy stuff this evening) and get some clothes...and yarn!..together to take to nottingham saturday!!

a long...long day

2007-02-20T19:41:00.000Z

took maddy in to have her 'operation' this morning at cats protection...i was dressed as usual in my pj's and made sure i got her there on time unlike her prev appointment when i overslept!
then took twiggy to our vets, but as id already left the cat box with maddy i got a bleary eyed stepson to come with me. she was born on 11/11/06 n is only tiny and has developed diahorrea recently. shes still eating drinking playing and using her tray as usual but despite worming her shes still 'going' all the time. so the vet has given me some diff wormer to the one they gave me last time, some sensitive stomach food and antibiotics to see how she gets on. so far so good shes perked up even more than usual and really enjoyed her adventure in the car!
this afternoon i went with my partner to the hospital to get a few things checked up ...everything is fine....so had to get a friend to pick maddy up, and still managed to get to b&q for some wood and hinges.
i am totally knackered now and my legs have already told me iv done too much.
so im gonna have a hot bath with a new book n see if that does the trick.

socks..and more socks!!!

2007-02-19T20:23:00.000Z

'Lewis' was really good last night...i managed to get upto and including the gusset decreases. so the way im going i maybe wearing the socks by friday.....i hope so as i cant wait to get knitting with my new fyberspates sock yarn.
in the meantime iv got my design head on n am gonna have a go at doing a few patterns as well as repairing/making a new yarn swift...mine is really poorly. its quite old n bought off ebay a while ago, one of the three arms have come away from the main body. so iv consulted stepson (who did woodwork at school unlike me) n he agrees with my design...having a square of wood with 4 arms of wood 'hinged'(if i can find hinges small enough that is) to the base. then the whole thing to rotate on a nail attached to a larger block of wood or g clamp. very crude design but if it does the job i dont care. esp as iv got at least 2 skeins that need winding....and with a trip to nottingham coming up there maybe more!!!!!
so i think a trip to b&q tomorrow is in order....

a free tv!!

2007-02-18T19:35:00.000Z

today we went and picked up a tv. we got it off freecycle, the person we got it from was a bit overrun with tvs (after being given one) and so advertised on freecycle.

iv replied to a few offers in the past but never been lucky enough till now!

so we are now the proud owners of a new(to us) tv in our lounge.

also iv finished no1 opal parrot trainer sock!

i really like the way the blue has pooled around the gusset shaping.

iv just casted on the second sock n there is a new 'lewis' on itv at 9pm so im off to have a bath so i can watch it in bed n get going with knitting it....

ear flap hat

2007-02-17T15:47:00.000Z

here is the ear flap hat as promised...

it still needs tassels adding to the ear flaps but the main thing is that it fits like a dream on my huge head!!!!

the pattern is a sirdar one knitted top down.

yarn is sirdar nova(sadly discontinued..its so soft warm n light)

knitted on 8mm needles...supposed to use 6mm needles for edging but as i was erring on the large side i just used my 8mm

only took an evening!

its also my 2nd proper attempt at fair isle(the 1st was in the form of 12 mini xmas stockings for sockfairy) and im really pleased with the results!!!

so im now gonna have a very warm head in the evenings when we go camping!!!!

iv frogged my jaywalkers as i dont feel the yarn will show the pattern to its best advantage. so iv cast on and am now upto the gusset shaping for a pair of trainer socks(my own pattern)

off to do some more knitting........

Hi Ho Hi Ho its back to work i go! (at last)

2007-02-15T13:10:00.000Z

what a fab day! i finally went back to work yesterday armed with my TENS machine after 5 weeks off sick.
after a chat with my boss it has been decided i am now to learn the lab side of my job...hhhuurrraaahhh iv been wanting to do it for ages. so im now working in the lab on wed and fri and then on a monday im to scan on a diff camera to usual. ill still cover dinners which will keep my hand in elsewhere. but all in all a lot less physically n mentally draining for me!!!!
in previous hospitals iv really enjoyed the lab work so im so pleased im being given the opportunity to learn here!!
on the knitting front iv started my 1st pair of jaywalkers in parrot opal. i completed an earflap hat the other night which just needs sewing up....and so far it fits my ridiculously sized head(it measures 24 in) !!!..pics to follow
my sock club yarn arrived from www.fyberspates.co.uk earlier...mmmmmmm gorgeous merino as well as some scrumptious in 'fruit salad'..its so yummy 40% silk 55%bluefaced leicester. iv been brave as i normally go for greens,purples n blues when buying yarn n these are more pinks n yellows.
so just gonna spend the rest of the day doing housework and then more knitting....bliss!

The hottie cover finished!!

2007-02-12T21:26:00.000Z

its done!!

the chunky turned out to be a slightly thicker than usual dk so i balled it together n just used 2 strands. its like a blue marl in colour

the pattern called for a garter st body wiith ribbed neck...but me being me decided to do it different!

so theres 2x2 rib bottom diagonal rib middle and 2x2 rib top with the required 1x1 rib 'neck'.

so my hottie now has a new squidgy outer!!

off to work on an ear flap hat now..........

hasnt it been warm??

2007-02-11T22:54:00.000Z

just how warm has it been today??
we have had sun and mild temps most of the day...i even debated as to whether i should put my wet washing on the line!!!
i just cant believe that just a few days ago it was bitterly cold and snowing!
re: the snow ball/window incident
thank u all for ur concern..it was worrying. but we are now just hoping it was 'just kids'. the police spent a fair bit of time parked on our front n even pulled a few kids in the car to warn them about throwing snow balls! from what i can gather we have been the talk of the road yesterday...and yes i live on a very long road!
iv spent most of the evening with my new best friend.....my ball winder!
iv wound 900g of 4ply into ball cakes ready to be sent to a friend....balls are easier on the post than cones... i may even keep a few balls 'just in case'!
i started the hottie cover yesterday, iv just got a few more rows to do before casting off n then its the dreaded sewing up. i really need to go on a finishing course but they dont do them round here. so i have to coincide a trip to my sisters(in nottingham) with courses that are held at her LYS...prob is they are usually over 2 days at the weekend and that would mean taking friday and monday as holiday from work to 'plan' my energy...and holidays are a bit thin on the ground until april!
iv got a debbie bliss shaped edged jacket already blocked just waiting to be sewn but i dont want to make a mess of it esp as is in cashmerino astrakhan(a boucle type yarn). iv actually got some smooth aran in the same colour so i may use that instead.
i suppose its obvious now why i love knitting socks!!!!

What a night?!

2007-02-10T12:54:00.000Z

this is my 1st ever post on a blog n yesterday i was wondering what to write and then....
sitting quietly knitting a pair of socks last night there was a massive crash at the window.
some1 had thrown a massive snow/ice ball at the window and had managed to break the outside of the double glazing!! my poor cats were so scared esp bella who had been sitting on the window ledge when it happened. so we ended up with the police coming out as this isnt the 1st time weve had broken windows! we arent sure if whoever it was did it to try n hit the cats or if it was a homophobic attack(as it has been before) but either way there was a lot of force behind it and it souldnt have happened.
so now when i look out of the window all i can see is a lovely sheet of cheap wood covering what used to be glass.
anyway after all that upheaval....id finished the socks, nice as well if i say so myself..theyv got a lace cuff and a slip stitch heel done in 100% wool i picked up at a stitching show(variegated khaki colour).....i decided i start some stash busting!!!! so went on the hunt for some chunky i knew was hiding in my box room,this was at 10pm. by the time id finished and had a bath it was 1240am....aaagghhh i feel crap today because of it!!!
but..i did manage to find (and bag) a good few cones of machine knitting yarn i was originally going to wind up together to produce a better thickness for hand knitting. so they are going to my mate who has recently acquired a knitting machine. she does a lot for a baby charity(blankets,clothes etc) so i thought they would keep her going for a while.
so we all know what that means...some stash out...more room for something else!!!
the chunky i eventually found is for a hot water bottle cover pattern that the same friend designed, and as its so cold here at the moment i thought my hottie could do with a face lift.
so off to cast on.............