Green and growing things

A while back one of my colleagues was thinning out her chili seedlings and offered them around to all the rest of us. I claimed one, brought it home without breaking the stem, and got it safely installed in a spare terracotta pot on the windowsill.
Fast forward a couple of months, and it's got fruit! Eight so far, and we hope to get at least one more crop off before the end of the growing season. For anyone growing peppers indoors, stray ends of yarn trimmed off projects make great fertilizing tools. Soft enough not to hurt the plant, rough enough that the pollen sticks well.

One down, one to go

Had a surprisingly productive weekend, given how busy it was. After work on Friday I'd planned to do a load of knitting, but after ending up doing a bunch of housework in my wheel's corner I got out Roy and did about three hours of spinning! The bag of fiber I thought would never end is looking decidedly depleted, so with any luck I'll finish the singles this week and get the plying done next weekend.

Various trips around London on Saturday gave me the chance to get a couple more inches of garter done. Who knows, I might finish that this week too. And although I went into Loop, I managed to not buy any yarn! I went for a second 100cm circular needle for Mum's shawl, and left with only that. Now I'll be able to actually finish it.

And thanks to an afternoon celebrating Swedish National Day with my half-Swedish best friend and long train journeys on Sunday, I finished the first Monkey sock and got halfway through the cuff of the second! The purpose of the trip was to give hub's Granny her birthday shawl. It fit perfectly, and I think she likes it. My in-laws seem to think I'm a bit mad for loving knitting. Ah well. I think they're all a bit mad too, so it balances out. :D

Busy weekend

It was a rather productive 3-day weekend too, especially since it rained and I stayed in! Granny's birthday shawl is well and truly started, despite a complete change of plans. The yarn/pattern combination just didn't work, so hub's granny will be getting a lovely burgundy drop-stitch number instead of the cerulean I'd planned. Ah well. The family tell me she'll like it, so on I go. If I do one repeat a day I'll finish it in a fortnight - and I managed 3 repeats yesterday!

I did do some 'work' on the purple hat over the weekend, inasmuch as I looked at it, decided the fabric was too stiff and ripped it out to restart on bigger needles. I'll pick that up again once the birthday shawl is done.

I did a little spinning and finished preparing the lump of fiber I'm working on. It's coming up as a fairly fine single, so I've got at least 5 hours of spinning left, probably more. And then it all needs to be plied!

The real progress of the weekend, though, was the work I did on the ripple bedspread and mum's heavy shawl. I've all but finished another stripe, which leaves me with only three left. Admittedly two of those stripes are great honking wide stripes, but still. I might even manage to finish the whole thing this month, just in time for summer! And I've finished the plain garter stitch section of mum's shawl, leaving the wide lace border.

I've run into an amusing snag with the shawl. It's currently on a circular needle that's 100cm long - and it's too short! I've run out of room for stitches! I think I've found a solution, though. While digging through my circular collection, I found another 100cm needle in the same size. I'm using it for granny's shawl right now, but once that's done I can stick point protectors on one end of each needle and use them as uber-long straights. That'll save me having to order a 150cm needle from Germany, at least to start with!

It's like visiting an old friend

As I've said before, too much crochet hurts my wrists. So, if I'm having a big marathon session on, say, a wedding dress, I have to stop periodically so I don't injure myself. During these little breaks, I generally knit. After all, the two activities use the arm muscles differently!

This weekend I decided to pick up my moccachino shawl. I'd done the first chart a while back and then put it down to focus on Christmas and other gifts. I picked it up on Friday evening and after a quick peek at the chart was sailing away. I'm halfway through repeat 4 of 10. My fingers seem to remember how to work the lace, and the fact that I'm using the same yarn as the last time makes it even more familiar. I don't expect to finish this in the week I took for the last one, but I have high hopes of a new shawl to wear by the end of February!

I should have added some details to my last post. The wedding sampler was worked by my amazingly talented mother. I can't remember a time when she hasn't been working on some form of embroidery or sewing, and she is a very big part of why I love needlework so much. Thanks Mum! You rock! The embroidery itself is about 18 inches by 12 inches or thereabouts. It's hanging in pride of place in our living room.

I missed Delurking Day, but wanted to thank everyone who comments and reads. I still can't figure out how to reply to comments, but I do read them and appreciate people taking the time to write. This was never intended to be anything other than a 'note-to-self' blog! :D

The Learning Curve

I did a load of spinning over the weekend. It's still astonishingly fun to do. I'm learning, though, that life would be so much easier if:

• I had a lapcloth. Black on one side, white on the other, I'd be able to see what I was spinning and not end up with my favourite black trousers covered in white fluff.
• I had more bobbins. I like the yarn better if I can let the singles rest before plying them, but I want to keep spinning. Trouble is, I only have three bobbins, so I can only spin 2 bobbins of singles and have one free to ply onto.
• I knew how to Navajo Ply. I found a video on YouTube that looks like it would be good to learn from. If I could ply that way, it wouldn't matter that I can't split my yarn evenly thanks to my not-great scales.
• I had some other flyers for Roy. A jumbo flyer would allow me to ply bigger skeins of yarn, and a high-speed flyer would let me spin finer yarn.
• I had a tensioned Lazy Kate. Plying would be so much easier.
• I had a couple of really good reference books. Not ones with knitting projects in, but ones that showed different ways of spinning (longdraw versus worsted? huh?), different ways of plying, ways to adjust one's wheel...
• I had more time to practice. I have no desire to abandon my knitting, but I'd love to spend more time spinning.
• I could see a proper spinner doing it. I have a feeling that spinning is going to be like knitting for me. I learned the basics of loop yarn this way for a knit stitch, this way for a purl, but figured out everything else on my own. Which was fine, but it took years. And I can't show anyone how to knit, because what my hands do doesn't look like anything anyone else does. Crochet, on the other hand, was taught to me by my lovely grandmother. That felt comfortable from day one, even though I'm now a much better knitter than crocheter.
• I could get a big lump of fiber to spin until I really got used to it. 100g of fiber x isn't really enough to get a feel on.

There are lots of other things to learn, of course, but this would be a start! I want to be a proper spinner so that someday I can spin enough fiber well enough to make garments.

Spitting distance

That's how close I am to finishing my poetry sampler. And the first of my Rock and Weave Socks. The sock I plan to finish over my lunch hour today (and then cast on number 2), and the sampler I will finish tomorrow. Because tomorrow is the first day of my vacation! Woohoo! I'm off until the 5th of January, so I have high hopes of getting lots of needlework and reading done. The plan is to finish this pair of socks, spend the rest of 2008 working on WIPs, and then start crocheting my friend's wedding dress on January 1. And start knitting a pair of socks for the hub.

It's been a pretty busy and productive year. Lots and lots of finished projects, lots of learning, swaps, destashing, stash enhancement, Ravelry, first lace shawl, all sorts! I shall do a complete breakdown on New Year's Eve, since hub has to work that day. (I'm planning to use the days of vacation when he's working to do lots of knitting and blogging so that I can really dive into spending time with him while he's at home. It's all good.)

My lovely brother gave us an early Christmas present which will benefit the blog - a new digital camera! The old one was fine, but this one is amazing. All sorts of bells and whistles, and it takes really good close-up pics. This also means that I can photograph our celebrations so that my family can see what we get up to.

There probably won't be a great deal of blogging from now until the New Year, so have lovely holidays!

An early Christmas present for me

From my grandmother, who absolutely rocks. She came over to visit for my little brother's graduation at the end of October and decided to do a bit of shopping while here.

On her first full day she joined me and my reenactment friends on a fabric expedition to Walthamstowe Market. It was good, we shopped, but that wasn't our only destination. We also made a trip to the Handweavers' Studio, a nirvana of fibery yumminess. I had never been there, but thought I might get myself a new drop spindle that's heavier than the one I already had. Well, I was looking at the spindles when my grandmother called me over and asked what I thought of the wheels.

You can probably guess where this is going.

I tried out an Ashford Kiwi, loved it, thought it was wonderful. This now lives in my living room.

I've got it all set up, and once I finish my Christmas knitting I plan to throw myself into spinning the bag of fiber I have ready to go. (I also got several sample packs of different fibers to try out, including some camel! Yum!) For right now I'm practicing treadling and getting to know the wheel.

If anyone has any name suggestions, now's a good time to throw them out!

Progress

I finished the purple hat last night. It's blocking, although I really need a bigger plate to stretch it over! I still have quite a lot of the yarn left, so I may be able to get a second hat out of the same skein. I'm really pleased with the pattern - it knits up much more quickly than I was expecting, especially since I was knitting the larger version!

Still no darning needle. I really need to go get one, but it's a question of finding the time!

I cast on for another Christmas present this morning, but it's a secret...

Christmas swaps are fun!

I'm really enjoying coming up with creative ways to spoil my swappees, but it makes for rather boring blogging - I can't tell you what I'm getting/making in case they read about it!

I can mention the new hat I've started. It's a present for my mum's best friend. A lovely deep purple, and happily I had the requisite circular needle to start immediately! And I went shopping this morning to get the other needles I need for my holiday knitting, so feeling quite pleased about that. Halloween Monkeys continue apace. I'm knitting the toe of number one this evening, and will be taking number two with me for the weekend. (Reenactment events tend to allow lots of time for crafting.)

Sock progress, indeed knitting progress in general, has be somewhat delayed by the disappearance of my darning needle. Not a major incident, one might think, but This was a special darning needle. I used it to sew in the ends on my very first knitting project, and all subsequent projects! I've had it for years now, and suddenly it decides to disappear. Very annoying. And this morning the yarn shop was sold out of darning needles, so I'll have to wait until Sunday at the earliest to buy new ones at the sewing shop. Grrrrr.

Yarn is yummy

I got a parcel with a skein of Posh Yarn Arabella in it yesterday. Arabella is a cobweb-weight merino/cashmere blend, and it is to die for. I just want to snuggle it like a little kitten. The colourway is called Wistful, and it is beautiful shades of grey and pale blue and silver. Yum! Now I just need to find a shawl pattern that is worthy.

That's the trouble with really nice yarn, you see. I have it, and then it is just to nice to knit with. What if I mess up the yarn? What if the pattern doesn't do it justice? This is why I hoard my Posh Yarn and make so much out of boring yarn. And is possibly why I take so long making things.

I've nearly finished the first of my stripey Monkeys. I've got part of one repeat and a rather short toe left to do, then I'll be good and cast on for the second sock. Much to my amusement (and dismay!) I took advantage of my sexy new knitting toy - a set of scales - and discovered that once I finish the second sock I will actually have enough yarn left to make an entire second pair of socks. Maybe I should train myself to like longer cuffs so that this doesn't happen again!

Vexed...

...is a good description of my current mental state. You see, my camera seems to have died. It'll switch on, but the viewfinder stays black and although you can take a picture, it, too, is black.

This is incredibly annoying, because I spent much of Sunday afternoon dyeing a skein of sock yarn pretty colours. Now that it's dry, I was hoping to take a photo of the skein, wind it, take a photo of it wound and maybe start knitting with it.

I was hoping to take a photo of the finished cuff of my Pomatomus sock. Nope.

My blog may get a bit dull until I either fix the camera or get a new one.

Treasures

This morning the post came, and two lots of things that I had ordered arrived with it! The first parcel only came from Reading. I ordered it on Thursday from Scandinavian Knitting Design, an online company that stocks, umm, Scandinavian yarns and patterns. A friend found them, ordered a bunch of stuff and recommended them to me, so I went to have a look at their website. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that they stock Kauni yarn! This stuff is very, very cool. It has unusually long colour repeats and was made famous when the Yarn Harlot knit a rainbow cardigan from it. I've been thinking about knitting a variation of the cardigan for a while now (in better colours, of course), but was loath to try and buy it from a Danish website. Finding it available in the UK was a real treat. So I've now got one skein of the black/purple/grey colourway that I'm going to turn into a shawl for a good friend. This was another one of those cases of trying out one skein of a new yarn before committing to a sweater's-worth. And it was also my last earned skein from the Stashalong!

Of course, I couldn't just get a single ball of yarn. I went to their sale section and was thrilled to find some lovely shawl pins. Since I seem to be going nuts for shawls right now, it made sense to get something to replace the DPN I'd been using instead.

The other parcel came from the US and was some yarn that I'd ordered a while back when I unexpectedly came into a bit of money. I'd been looking for some Halloween yarn online and found this seller on Etsy. She had a collection of monster-themed sock yarn that looked really fun - so I bought it! It arrived today and is just great. Frankentwined is purple and green and is probably my favourite of the lot. I'll be making some socks out of it, once I can find a worthy pattern. Monster Stash is probably going to become a pair of Rock 'n' Weave Socks. I love this pattern and have been looking for something to make it in for a while. Bestitched may wait, since I don't know what it will suit. And Socks o'Lantern is going to be turned into a Halloween shawl for my mum, using the same pattern that my Noro Triangle did.

What fun! Must finish up some other stuff first, though. There may be a few new-ish projects that haven't yet been blogged about...

Now I get it!

I had someone over on Monday, so didn't get any knitting done in the evening. But I picked up my shawl again last night and discovered why so many people go nuts over Addi Turbo needles! In the past, I've been unconvinced that there was enough increase in speed to compensate for the annoyance of slipperiness and working on a circular needle. But after swapping over to one for space issues (I had more stitches than would fit on my bamboo straights) and working last night, I totally get it.

Previously, I was managing about a row and a half in one evening, given average conversation and tv-watching. Last night I got through four rows! And they were longer, too, since the shawl increases 4 stitches every other row. And then I got through another 2 before work this morning!

Definitely worth the hassle to have that much of a speed increase. :D

Spouse is out tonight, so with a quick dinner and no distractions, I have high hopes of getting through the remaining 8 rows of my current chart. And that would put me on the final chart! I might get this sucker done over the weekend - woohoo!

And now that I've finished my current batch of lunchtime errands, I managed to get a load of the gusset done on the second Monkey sock. Soon. Soon they will both be done and I can get on with Pomatomus...

A quiet evening in

The spouse was at a meeting last night, so I spent the evening at home with my knitting and the Fellowship of the Ring on DVD. (As an aside, this trilogy is amazing. Favourite set of films ever.) Decided that since there was no conversation on the agenda, I'd indulge in some Swallowtail action. I haven't worked on this shawl in a couple of months, but I got back into the swing of it reasonably quickly, and finished an entire repeat of the Budding Lace chart. Only 5 more of those, then the section with the beads, then the edging.

And then I get to experience the joy of blocking my first lace shawl. I suspect there is going to be much bargaining over the use of the bed as a blocking surface, since it's the only flat surface in our flat that's big enough to block a shawl. The spare mattress might work, since this is only a little shawl, but we'll have to see.

Of course, at the rate I'm knitting I may not even need to block the thing until next year. :D

Sometimes you win

While at Coronation, another thing happened that I forgot to mention. One of the merchants was holding a silent auction for a very elderly (possibly antique) tapestry frame. One of the wooden jobbies that stands on the floor. Hub put in a very low bid, and against the odds, won it for me! He didn't even tell me that he'd entered, so I was floored when he sauntered into the bunk with it in hand.

And just before I went on holiday, I won some sock yarn from Another Purl! She was giving away a skein of bright, bright green Cherry Tree Hill sock yarn, and I was lucky enough to win! It came in the post yesterday, and I already know what I'm going to make with it...

Lack of blog fodder

The real trouble with spending so much time sewing rather than knitting is that it really isn't all that interesting to blog about. Until I get myself a much better camera, I'm really not going to do that much more photography simply because taking pictures is such a hassle. And really, a pile of fabric just keeps looking like a pile of fabric until it's done and turned into a garment. And even then it only looks like something once it's being modelled.

One good thing about it is that it's giving me lots of time to think about what I want to work on next. And in fact, to think about needlework in general. I resent having my knitting and sewing time taken up by things that aren't knitting or sewing. So, I've been thinking a lot about organizing my supplies. Not my stash - that's pretty much as organized as it's going to get until I've reduced it more. No, I mean things like my tools, books and accessories.

My crochet hooks have their own case, and so does the set of bamboo straights that my lovely grandmother got me for Christmas a couple of years ago. I'd like to have a second case for hooks because the one I have now doesn't have spaces big enough for my jumbo hooks. I'd also like to have a case for all of my other straights that will keep them sorted and safer than the vase on my table. I've got fabric to make a roll-up case for my DPNs, but just haven't had the time or energy to figure out exactly what I want to do with it. My sewing needles live in a beautiful embroidered needlecase made by my mother, so they are fine where they are.

Something else I've been meaning to do is sort out some jars for all of my little oddments, like stitchmarkers and beads. I'd love to make embroidered jar toppers, but then I'd have to figure out how to attach them.

It's all so frustrating - there are many, many things that I want to do, and I just don't have enough time!

SQUEEEE!!!!!

A weekend of not much progress, truth be told.

But.

Butbutbut.

On Friday I received an Amazon parcel with a lovely thing in it - Folk Socks by Nancy Bush, an early birthday present from my equally lovely mum. Maybe I'll end up with all of her books. That would rock! This one is about 2/3 history of socks and hosiery and 1/3 patterns. As ever, the patterns are fantastic. I shall make most of them, I think.

And tonight the spouse and I went over to my co-worker's house because she had offered me a gift - a working sewing machine! It's seriously vintage, but is in working order and still had a spare bobbin and some fancy needles to go with. I shall take pictures and explore when I'm not worn out from a party. And to cap it, she'd also found an enormous stash of old knitting needles to give me! Including a large bundle of footlong DPNs. As far as I can tell, they don't make these any more. And I've been desperate to get some for sweater-making.

What a great weekend!

Furthermore

This morning was very exciting, for the super-secret-special project yarn arrived - and it is so far beyond amazing that I don't have words. I love it. I am thrilled with it. I want to pet it and snuggle it and put it in a bowl on my table so I can look at it every time I walk past. And the designing has begun! Admittedly on a scrap of paper, but still. It's all good.

I have just spent a good dose of time updating my Ravelry account. It's one of those sites that requires more time the more time you put into it. I just went through to add all of my Mission: Possible projects to my project queue, but while doing so found another dozen or so things that I just have to knit! Whoops!

One of these days I really need to get around to inventorying my knitting needle collection so that I know what I actually have. It's very vexing getting ready to start a project only to discover that you don't have the right needles. Especially when It's a circular needle. One of these days I should really get an interchangeable circular needle set.

A post of many things

And many pictures. First, Christmas stuff! (Yes, I know it's already February, but I've been ill.)

Many lovely yarny things were received, and I have pictures of most of them. First off, the new knitting needles. There is actually one missing from the picture because, well, it's in a project right now. The case holds more needles than it came with, which pleases me greatly. I'm all about the organized knitting supplies.

Then there was the yarn. 4 skeins of delicious sock yarn for three pairs of socks (Austermann Step, Wisdom San Diego and Patons Kroy Sock) and some Bernat alpaca that has already been turned into a scarf and hat this year.

Also received, though not for Christmas, were 4 skeins of Incredible and one skein of Suede, both by Lion Brand. These are very exciting for me, as I've never worked with either ribbon yarn or suede effect yarn. My lovely grandmother also let me have two of her balls of Peaches and Cream dishcloth cotton, so I can finally join the dishcloth party.

One final and very special acquisition was this beautiful skein of sKitches Kettle Drum in the Aegean colourway. Back in November Sheri had a contest of sorts on her blog, basically asking for suggestions of new music. And the random number generator picked me as the recipient of a $25 gift certificate! So I picked this beautiful skein of sock yarn. I think it's destined to become Pomatomus socks when it grows up.

Second - Project Spectrum stuff! Obviously the Jaywalkers are my first project of the Fire section, but I found a ton of embroidery stuff that I'm planning to work with too.