Packing is for wimps

I need to leave the house in 8 hours time, so why am I blogging instead of packing? Hmm.
Just to prove that all of my friends are keeping secrets from me - Lauren had organised a farewell party for me on Monday as it was the last time we would both be in London together. Here is the little gathering. Well done Pete and his mastery of the self timer.I wanted to show you the progress on the hoodie - 2.5 hours on the train tomorrow to finish 2/3rds of a sleeve and sew it up - not sure if I'll manage. Hopefully I might get a bit of time before we see our friends on Friday evening. Looking good - despite the small star chart reading error. Also, the anniversary present I have made for Tony - a maroon elephant - hopefully it will remnd him that he used to have a maroon elephant he loved as a child!And finally, this is where I will be spending the rest of my secret holiday with two of our good friends..... see you in 10 days.

Obsessed with Socks?

I think maybe I am. Or at least addicted to buying the yarn. Here is the latest offering (with Monkey trying to say hello in the background!)However I found a solution today in Stash. A book containing loads of patterns for sock yarn for "Not Just Socks". Magic! I have to make the flip flip socks on the front. There are also some very cool convertible mittens which I have wanted for ages. I also bought some more MissionFalls to complete the secret anniversary present for Tony and some cotton Lana Grossa, one of which is going to be Jaywalkers for my best friends birthday present (as I think the stripes will look cool). The other is probably destined to be another pair for Tony.
Here are the presents from my SP I was talking about in the last post. Cool Huh? Dishcloth, patterns, tea and a bookmark. Thank You again!And finally here is the back and half of the front of the hoodie I am making for Sam. I thought the star was going well. It was planned on the tube on the way home from work, I think everyone wondered why I was drawing a star on some not very square graph paper.
However, the only intarsia I have ever done before was in the fair isle way, where you carry the yarn across the back. Ok for little things, or cards. But not jumpers. The blue is far too tight and pulling the sides of the star together. A little internet research tells me I need separate yarn for each side and twist them together before changing colour. So some frogging awaits....
I'm off to visit my pregnant friend and hubbie in Hebden Bridge this weekend. Hoping it will be sunny! Looking forward to the long train journey as I've got lots of projects on the go at the moment so hopefully I can finish the hoodie and also Tony's secret present... and then that leaves the sock knitting for my hols. Have a good one all.

So so soft

I did a bit of stash reorganisation when I got home from work today. I had to find out the cotton angora to take back to John Lewis after Ysolda told me how terrible it was. Obviously that is why it was on sale. Glad she told me before I knitted it into a blanket that would make everyone sneeze! I sorted out some things I am never going to use to put on ebay, mostly acrylic stuff I bought when I first started knitting again, and some Rowan Ribbon twist that I am slightly "over" now.
Anyway, whilst sorting out I found some Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran and remembered the pattern for the hoodie from the first issue of Simply Knitting. It is simply the softest and most lovely thing I have ever knit with, even better than the baby cashmerino because it is so much thicker. So it looks like Sam will have a present after all. I'm thinking of making the front with a big star on, but I'm not sure. Or possibly with stripey sleeves. I only have 5 balls and the pattern states you need 6, so I reckon either of these things will mean I can buy just one extra in a contrast colour.
Also, my first Secret Pal parcel arrived today to replace the one obviously lost in the post between here and canada. A fab crochet dishcloth and bookmark and some patterns. Thanks secret pal! I'll post some piccies tomorrow as I'm all out of battery.

More good things

I have abandoned the other sock for the time being. It will probably be a sock for me at a later date. I have also decided that I just can't get on with the 2mm needles, I work much better on 2.5mm. I've started another sock in the same rib pattern as I did for Tony's socks, in Forest Walker from Curious Yarns
I'm also working on a few other secret things, but I can't tell you about them as the recipients could possibly read this, so this isn't the only knitting/crochet I've managed this weekend! Another exciting thing is this, the first flower on my Passiflora on the back fence. So amazing. Now I know where my green and purple obsession stems from
And lastly, I got my envelope with details of my secret holiday in from Tony this weekend. Yipeeee. Of course, I have no self restraint and opened the envelope almost straight away. I can reveal that for our 4 year anniversary I will be sleeping here in a castle. More importantly in a turret of a castle, I love turrets and round rooms and round windows. I used to dream of living in a turret when I was a little girl! Such a brilliant present. Thank you Tiger! We are spending 2 nights here and then have a week elsewhere... but that is still a secret at the moment. We also get to see our friends John and Sarah and their little boy Sam. He is the one who the Train Track slipover was for, I would like to make something else to take with me so have been looking for inspiration. I am thinking the jumper below from Miss Bea Dressing up. I'll take a look at the cotton angora I bought and see if there are any suitable colours!Good mindless knitting for the trip to Hebden Bridge this weekend me thinks!

A lot can happen in a week....

You can finish some socks and find out they fit their intended recipient and he likes them!
You can start some more socks and decide that maybe they look a little too "80's" to give away as a present to either of the friends with birthdays in August. I love the colours in the ball, but am really not sure about them as Jaywalkers. I think the yellow makes them a bit too garish. What do you think?You can get an amazing parcel from your One Skein Pal. Containing one skein of the beautiful Lorna's Laces Bullfrogs and Butterflies in "Watercolour"; a fantastic smelling sandalwood candle and some fab art deco buttons. I have no idea what I am going to do with this yarn... but I could look at it and stroke it all day. I love it! Thanks One Skein Pal.
You can also get a new job! Not one in London though, one in Birmingham. That job you decided to start looking for about 6 weeks ago thinking it would take a year or so to find something suitable. You can hand in your notice at work and start planning your last 4 weeks living in London. You can spend a weekend doing more DIY so you can think about contacting estate agents to sell the flat your boyfriend has been slaving over for the last 20 months. You can start looking for house to buy in Wolverhampton. You can contemplate how life living in the same house as your boyfriend of 4 years is going to pan out (even if you are just moving in until the flat/house selling/buying happens). You can realise just how much you will miss all of your fantastic friends in London and you can worry about how you are going to make new ones in a new city. But most of all you can be really really really happy and excited about the next chapter of your life and get on with making some more socks for 30th birthday presents :0)
Hope everyone else has had a good week too.

Hot in the City

Boy it's hot here tonight!
Here is what I have been upto this week. Commuting knitting -more on the TT's socks. I'm glad they are pooling in the same way, however I think things may be going a bit off now I'm starting on the decreases for the foot... never mind.
Also, home knitting has been a cardigan for baby Toby (to match his blanket - made from the left over yarn). It is from the childhood pattern in Knitty but without the hood, as there was not enough red yarn left. I made the smallest size, and I hope it will fit him in a couple of months when it gets a bit colder. I hope it isn't too girly. I get to meet the little man tomorrow. I can't wait!
Today also saw my first trip to Stash Yarns in Putney. I was on my way to watch the football with friends in Chiswick, so it seemed the perfect time to stop by. I was on the lookout for some secret pal presents. They did not disappoint. I managed to get some sock yarn for my pal. I don't think she has knitted socks before, so I'm going to send her a sock kit as some encouragement. I also got the most amazing skein for my One Skein Pal. I can't decide whether to knit with it myself and send it to her, to whether to just send it. Here is a little sneak into the makers of the fab yarn. Not saying any more until I make a decision on what to do.
Shop was lovely, I wanted to buy everything. I also met two fellow bloggers who were perusing... Kate and Ling. Good luck with the socks, hope you managed to buy some fab things!