Ribbit…Had to frog it.

I had to frog my garter stitch shawl. It was knitting up great and I love the circular needles - they are amazing but the colour was too much..will use the yarn for squares for a blanket instead.

And so, I am casting this one on: The stockinette shawl from the same site.

Pictures soon!

Spoons Spinning in Yarn

It sucks when I don’t have enough spoons today to even finish the washing up…I’ve done enough to get us through the next few days and that will have to do. At least I’m doing it though!

At the moment my life seems to revolve about trying to see the positive in the day - What I have managed to get done not what I haven’t managed etc. I’m coping a little better now I’ve admitted to myself that I can’t possibly live up to my  own rediculous expectations  of myself without making myself ill.

So, my positives for the week -
I went to knitting group for the second time. Had a great chat with one of the ladies (who all told me how well they thought I was doing with the knitting) who asked me all about myself and we talked about felt and yarn and she was telling me about how shes recently started spinning with a wheel and we started talking about drop spindles and she says she can lend me one to learn with! Oh my!

I can do something with all my wool tops instead of feeling like its sitting in its box glaring at me. I just need to find a book on it!

You have to see these pictures of where my knitting group is held!

I sit under these beautiful stained glass windows

and look at these amazing vaulted arches.

So very peaceful - until the lunch rush arrives!

M’s mum met me there and then she walked up to The Shambles with me so I could go to Sheepish, where I fell in love with some yarn - its Twilleys Freedom Spirit in shades of purple and grey and its so very very beautiful! It has a lovely sheen to it. I’ll have to save up and get some to make something beautiful out of for myself!

Glad I got home when I did - the heavens opened not long after and it was raining so hard I literally couldn’t see out of the window!

I’ve also made this little monogram to go on a rosemary scented sachet, probably to go in my knitting bag. I’m going to make more to go in with my PJ’s and my delicates drawers.

Its my lovely hand dyed Sassa Lynne Berry Crush my mother got me for Xmas on a recycled black linen skirt.

I’ve almost finished my first proper knitting project - a cushion…but I can’t finish it till I’ve bought a cushion pad to go in it. ITs cast off and I will post photos when its done!

Right now I’m enjoying some soup and a ciabatta roll and shall then probably watch Dr Who and Miss Austen Regrets again on I player while I work on my second knitting project - a very basic garter stitch shawl from the Shawl Workshop in a lovely coppery orange colour. It may have stripes. I haven’t decided yet! There will also be photos of that when theres enough of it to show!

Am still here…

…oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!

I’ve been so busy knitting etc. that I’ve forgotton to post for the last week!

Now lets see…

I made a few practice pieces:

Last week I was not only brave and went out on my own for the first time in ages but I also joined a knitters group! They meet in a centre in a old church and we were up on a mezzanine, by the vaulted arches and the incredibly beautiful stained glass windows. So peaceful. All the ladies were really nice and made me promise to come back this week. You can bring your own knitting or they knit squares for charity to be made into blankets that are then sent in aid packages to countries abroad.

I’ve knitted one square for them:

And I’ve started my very first proper project - A cushion in Garter Stitch. Its from Knitting for Dummies and is a Button Cushion:

I also recieved my Ravelry invite on Saturday night and have been looking at interesting things on there as well as adding my very small yarn stash to it.

Pottering About

This morning I am just pottering around the flat and looking at interesting things online.

Unfortunatly I don’t have any pretty photos today as am waiting for my camera batteries to charge so instead I bring you a meme.

It was supposed to be 7 random things but I like multiples of 3 so, here are Nine Random Things about me.

• I was named after Jo in Little Women. My mother saw her as a good role model for me and I don’t mind one bit. My inner bluestocking rather likes it in fact.
• The foliate fabric bag I made recently was the first time I have ever used patterned fabric. I like things to line up too much to have braved it before.
• I get stuck on colours. At the moment its pink, purple and grey. No idea why.A couple of months ago it was rust, copper and golden yellow.
• My favourite magazine is Country Life. It allows me to dream of the day I have my cottage in the country with my sheep and chickens and my workroom/studio. I love looking at the articles about peoples houses and it reminds me that I’m a rural woman at heart and although I live in a city now I grew up in a rural town.
• Lavender gives me cronic migraines. Its an unusual trigger or so I’ve been told.
• I collect wooden cotton reels. They are just nice to hold and look at and make me smile.
• I have more pairs of stripy socks than non stripy socks. Everyone needs stripy socks. Infact I think I need more stripy socks.
• My favourite fairy tale growing up was the Brothers Grimms Rose Red and Snow White. My copy was lost a long time ago but this site has the text (with interesting annotations). From looking for the text I also found this really interesting sounding reworking of the story on amazon. Shall have to add it to my wishlist!
• Although I only have one so far I collect the Brambly Hedges books. My fella found one in a charity shop and bought it to cheer me up with. Its the Four Seasons of Brambly Hedge. I adore Jill Barklem’s illustrations. The soft watercolours just make me smile.

Ok, I’m going to go and make something interesting to take pictures of to show you!

Yarn Dreams

I’m addicted to looking at yarn at the moment.

As I mentioned before I’ve been practicing my knitting with some nice acyrlic mega chunky yarn ina lovely purpley pink colourway.

and am going to try some DK soon - I have a bag full of small scrappy balls but I’ve obviously inherited my mothers knack for recognising the good stuff and I’d been lusting after some of the hand dyed yarns I’ve seen especially these - Theres some thing about these two colour twists that makes me want to have it! I just love looking at at the before and after pictures on Pieces of String to Small to Save (she has a beautiful cat too!) and Cosymakes has the most scrumptious yarn on her blog.

It practically has you salivating!

The recycled sari yarn at the top of the page begs to be a hat or a scarf.

I’m developing a real yearning for Rowan yarns as well. Especially the Handknit Cotton, perhaps for my Ripple Blanket I could use Lupin, Antique, Rose and Decadent, and for the Granny Squares maybe Decadent, Black and Thunder.

I’d also like to make a shawl from Damask Lava.

Tinks showed me this yarn site, poshyarn the other day and I’ll have to be really good before I use this stuff but OMG this stuff is beautiful. No wonder it sells out so quickly!

Anway I should probably stop looking at yarn and get on with practicing so I’m good enough to use these lovely yarns!

Hook One; Knot One.

My other technique I’m learning is crochet.

My friends TInks does wonderful crochet and encouraged me to try it and then, a few months ago I found this ladybird book in a charity shop:

So far I’ve just about managed to make a chain but then when I try to do my double crochet stitches I get in a tangle but I shall persevere! Tinks suggested looking for video tutorials.

I’m dreaming of crocheting a granny squares like the one on the cover of the book so I can make a blanket of them.

And I’m rather taken with the ripple effect as demostrated so well my Jane Brocket - she of the fabulous Yarnstorm and The Gentle Art of Domesticity. She’s been kind enough to let me use her photo. (Seriously, her blog is worth looking at just for the photos! I don’t know how she does it!)

So, these are my crochet ambitions. It may take a while to get there but its something to work towards isn’t it?

Knitting Update & Books for Dummies

I practiced my knitting a little last night (while watching steven fry’s history of the gutenburg press - Incredibly interesting so go , watch it on i player!I’ve rewatched once already) and managed to finish my garter stitch square and cast it off without it all falling apart

so I decided I was feeling brave and would try to have a stab at trying purl stitch and after an hour of trying and ripping it out again I finally managed it! Its wonky and I dropped a couple of stitches but I did it!

My mum very kindly bought me these books to get me started as they are a little more up to date than my Readers Digest book.

Knitting for Dummies

and

Crochet for Dummies

They arrived this morning so am going to settle down with them and have a good read and see if they can help - and hopefully so I’ll stop whinging to anyone who’ll listen about not being able to work it out.

Anyway, Shall make a cup of tea and get to reading them!

Knit One; Purl One.

The weather here has been somewhat cold and wet recently. Something about this weather enforces the desire to curl up and under a nice blanket with a hot drink can be overwhelming- trouble is my blanket is a bit depressing. Its just a piece of black polar fleece I had left over from a project. Its functional but not particularly pretty to look at or be comforting.

And so my dreams of knitting or crocheting myself a blanket have resurfaced.

One small hitch.

My skills at both are decidedly at the extreme novice stage.

Several years ago I worked in a fabric and haberdashery shop. The other ladies who worked there knitted clothes for the premature babies in the S.C.B.U. at the local hospital and they attempted to teach me how to knit.

After several attempts (and getting tangled several times) I got underway and several weeks later I had a scarf that was at least half dropped stitches but I had made it and I was very proud of it. Unfortunately it got thrown out by accident otherwise I would show it to you. I’d barely picked up the needles since until last year when I learnt how to do casting on and knit stitch.

I’ve been teaching myself with my Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Needlework.

I’ve been practicing with Mega Super Chunky Shade 655.

I love the colours. Perhaps I should try making squares of knitting to sew together to make a blanket.

My renewed interest in knitting is down to a couple of people: My partners sister showed me some socks she was making for her parents and the blog of Lolly Knitting Around. I found her bog while investigating Project Spectrum and discovered Socktoberfest.

I have an unashamed (although not entirely grown up) love of stripy socks, so finding people also knotted with self striping yarns was a revelation.

And so, I am learning to knit so I can knit myself blocks for a blanket, and socks. Maybe one day a shawl!

Now, Lu, if you are reading, it will be a while before I can manage toe socks.

Now thats what I call customer service!

I rang Stitch with the Embroiders Guild earlier as I was starting to wonder what had happened to my copy of Stitch as it went on sale about a week ago and the last copy arrived pretty much as it went on sale.

A problem with my address on their system was quickly resolved and she’s popping a copy of issue 52 (the one that hadn’t arrived) into the post to me.

Can’t wait to read it with a cup of tea!

Finished Bag!

I finished the bag! Its lined with some indigo blue denim to give it strength and it has two interior pockets

This is the main bag part. Big enough to hold a magazine and my assorted junk.

Decorating it we have:

My favourite Brooch - Cat Moon. I found it in a charity shop for 50p.

My pewter butterfly pin brooch. It seemed apt on my lovely foliate fabric!

Hope you like it!