Evil Tonsils

I've been off work for most of last week with what I think is/was tonsillitis/virus type thing. Rubbish. I haven't really felt like doing anything apart from sleeping. However, looking back it does look like some knitting and spinning happened!
I finished my first Provence Knee High.

This is the size of sock you can get from 1/2 a skein of The Yarn Yard Bonny. Toe Up to use every last bit.

Very very easy knitting. Exactly what I needed.
I also started this.... my Aeolian Wedding Shawl. Only the set up chart done so far, but it is a start. I have 3 months to finish it!

For some reason I also decided to start one of the hardest socks out of the Cookie A book. This is Kristi. I've had to colour code the chart and I think I've finally made sense of the cables (with the help of the errata). I have only managed 3 rows of the chart so far, my brain can't cope at the moment!

Finally, I have found that spinning has been a very calming, low energy task perfect for those afternoons when you feel a little more awake but still can't really be bothered to concentrate.
Here is nearly a full bobbin of gorgeous dairy milk coloured merino. Not perfect, but the best yet! Now Do I spin another bobbin of this or a slightly lighter purple to ply with it?Hmmm. Decisions.

Wedding Shawl Swatches

A quick reminder of the detailing on my dress

















Now for the swatches -
Top Right - Zephyr Laceweight in White on 3.5mm needles
Top Left - Posh Yarn Charlotte, undyed on 3.5mm needles
Bottom Left - Zephyr Laceweight in White on 3.25mm needles
Bottom Right - Posh Yarn Charlotte, undyed on 3.75mm needles


A close up of the Zephyr on 3.5mm -

The Zephyr on 3.25mm

Posh Charlotte on 3.75mm

Posh Charlotte on 3.75mm

Close up of the beads - top are purl like, bottom are clear

Close up of a mixture of the beads


Decisions decision. The posh yarn has more definition but is probably too cream. The Zephyr seems to be a much better colour match, although I haven't held it next to the dress yet. The Zephyr on smaller needles seems to define the pattern more
The beads on the dress are clear, so I think I am going to go for the clear beads on the shawl. These seem to sparkle a bit more too. So Zephyr on 3.25mm with clear beads seems to be the way forward. What do you think? Should I go down to 3mm in the Zephyr and see what happens?

Cookie Hunting

I was very excited when I heard Cookie A would be launching her book in Loop on the Sunday afternoon that I was in London.

After leaving my friends in Surbiton I headed up to Angel for the short walk to Loop.

As I trudged up Upper Street, passing the scary 80's playsuits in the windows of the vintage shops, a pair of red Monkey socks caught my eye. I was too shy to stop the person, just in case she thought I was a complete nutter, but I did consider the pro's and cons of shouting "Nice Monkey's" after her!

I reached Cross Street in no time at all. I have been to Loop before, many moons ago, just after it opened, when I still lived in London, so I knew not to dispair as I was walking down a street which seems to have little hope of containing a knitting shop.

I was delighted to see the shop was not TOO full. I was worried my backpack would not have been a welcome addition to a shop crammed full of people. I was even more glad to see a big pile Sock Innovations :o) Yipee, at least one shop in the country had stock of this very sought after book.
I admired the wonderful displays of Cookie A socks from the new book

And got to see a wonderful display of her older designs

I even got to touch the original Pomatomus!

I felt very honoured.

A little chat with Cookie (yes, I got my book signed too) revealed that she thinks that Kai-Mei and Rich are the most fun to knit from the new book and she loved designing each one just as much as the next (hmmm... said with a little bit of sarcasm me thinks!)

I took some pictures, indulged in a cookie (choc chip - it was yum) and was enabled by Jane, she had a collection Norah Gaughan books in her hands and I remembered I wanted number 3.

I headed back to Euston and my train to Wolverhampton ready to start on my favourite sock of the day, Kai Mei, in some purple Yarn Yard solid I had wound specifically for the purpose. However I neglected to bring another sock needle with me, so I had to "make do" with reading Cookie's fantastically detailed notes about sock design and construction and swatch for my Aeolian shawl instead.

More on that tomorrow!

By George

My Godson, Owen, was two at the end of February. I had been plotting his birthday present for months before, I had a picture in my head of a jumper or cardigan with cables and pockets but just couldn't find quite the right pattern. Ziggy was a favourite for quite a long time but it wasn't *quite* what I wanted. Trellis was another contender, high up on the list, but I knew I would have to resize it. I was about to give up on finding the perfect pattern when Katie posted a picture of a gorgeous wrap that her mum had knit out of a recent Yarn Yard sock club offering. I immediately asked for the pattern as it was a cute baby knit. It was in a discontinued Jaeger book, JB 29. Flicking through the other patterns in that publication on Ravelry, I found George! It was the pattern I'd been looking for. I had obviously seen it here before and it had lodged itself in my memory.

Then the hunt began to find a copy of the (now out of print) pattern. There were a few on ebay, but I kept missing them, and time was running out. I contacted Jannette at Jannette's Rare Yarns and she managed to get me a copy from Rowan -I got such fantastic service from her, I can't recommend her enough. I was planning on using some felted tweed from my stash for this, but my initial swatch told me there was no way I was going to get gauge so I ordered some Rowan extra fine merino from Jannette as well and took my supplies off to the Lake District with me.

I seriously thought about adapting this pattern into a top down raglan (which should have been fairly easy) but decided now I had gone to all that trouble to get a copy of the actual pattern I should just knit it as written. I had some issues with leaning stitches, and thought I'd forgotten how to knit. However some fellow bloggers gave me the answer to why my stitches are a bit uneven.

I forgot to take the pattern to Skip North, so couldn't finish it there. Instead I spent last week seaming, knitting button bands and collars on the train so I could deliver it in person this weekend.

It was finished blocked and wrapped on Thursday evening and worn on Saturday.

I knit the 2-3 years size and it fits (just). I am hoping it grows a bit when it is washed, otherwise I may be knitting another one in the very near future. I should have taken more notice of the "It comes out small" Ravelry comments. Ooops.

Next time it will definitely be a top down raglan - there is no need for all of that seaming or picking up stitches - my two pet hates - even though my matress stitch has gotten rather good of late!

Pattern: George from Jaeger Handknits JB29 - 27 designer garments for babies and children by Martin Storey

Yarn: Rowan Extra Fine Merino in 894 - Bark (Dark Brown)

Size: 2-3 Years

Started: 23rd February

Finished: 2nd April

Needles: 3.25mm and 4mm addi lace

Comments: It comes up small - so if you are thinking of knitting this, make a bigger size than you think you need!

In these shoes... I don't think so!

More appropriate for certain other members of my team rather than myself, "In these shoes, I don't think so!" is our team name for the St Basil's Brecon Beacons challenge on 30th May 2009.

Myself and 5 colleagues will be walking 14 miles (eeek) in order to raise money for St Basils, a charity that provides help and support to young people in danger of becoming homeless.

So, I'm asking for money! I need some motivation to get me around the course.... please sponsor me by clicking on this link

Spinning, again...

I have managed some more spinning over the last week and Rachel lent me her niddy noddy last night so I could skein up this:

Here is handspun yarn number 2 - some blue faced leicester, 2ply, which Natalie kindly gave me when she loaned me the wheel.

Not bad for a second attempt. There is about 44m in total (according to my calculations) and there is a little more on one bobbin - hmmm, not sure what to do with that.
Not entirely sure what I can make with the yarn either, but that isn't really the point at the moment. Maybe my ipod needs a little bag?
Things didn't go quite as swimmingly at the start, and I had a bit of messed up fibre - I thought the birds might like it for their nests. We have "nestcam" back this year, and "Derek" is making a good home in the box at the moment.

In between the spinning I have been swatching too... for my Aeolian Wedding Shawl.
This is Posh Yarn Charlotte 2ply on 3.75mm needles. 7 stitch nupps at the top and 9 stitch underneath. The beads are slightly pearlised.

I think I need to go down a needle size, so I'm going to swatch again. I have some zephyr to swatch with as well and then I'm going to go into the wedding dress shop with my samples to see which goes best with the dress!

Emergency Hat Knitting

This week has been the week of emergency hat knitting!
Tony’s mum, Pat, had chemo at the start of the year before having a stem cell transplant. (Her Aplastic Anaemia returned in November, and this is the only solution for a long term cure.)
She is now feeling well enough to get out and about and was invited out to dinner on Thursday evening by her neighbours. The chemo made her lose her hair. and although it is growing back, it is still very short and patchy, so she asked if I would make her a “dressy” hat that she could wear to go out for dinner in. Tony asked in a very casual way before I headed off to Skip North last weekend... I said yes, of course. It was only when I returned home on Sunday evening that I found out the meal out was this Thursday - 3 days to knit a hat - and I had no idea what she wanted!
I invited them over for dinner on Monday, and spent the evening searching Ravelry for ideas. She wanted a cream hat, with a brim that detracted from the fact she has no hair. I suggested Odessa but with a roll brim and maybe a flower or something similar. I’ve knit this hat before and knew it would work well in Rowan Calmer, which met with her, “it can’t be wool and it needs to be a bit stretchy” requirement. House of Fraser in Brum has a ball of cream Calmer in the rejects bin for 50p on Tuesday. Bingo!
I cast on during my commute home, knit up to the first or second pattern repeat on Tuesday night before falling asleep. I was convinced I wasn’t going to finish it in time. I knit like the wind on Wednesday; on the bus, on the train, at lunchtime in a cafe. Beading on a bus is certainly interesting! I cast off and crocheted the flower at about 10.30pm on Wednesday evening and delivered it to Pat. (I even remembered to take a picture first). Luckily (a) it fit and (b) she really liked it. Phew.

Pattern: Odessa by Grumperina. Originally from Magknits, now available from Ravelry
Yarn: Rowan Calmer in Cream (no ball band, sorry!)
Beads: Left over from my Swallowtail shawl
Needles: 4mm addi turbos
Started: 24th March
Finished: 25th March
Comments: I cast on 10 more stitches than the pattern recommends and did 8 rows of stocking stitch to make the roll brim before decreasing 10 stitches evenly around and following the pattern as normal.
The flower was a last minute addition, crocheted and completely made up on a 4.5mm hook (it was the first one that came out of the bag!)

Now I can go back to the spinnng! I made a right mess of some BFL last night :o)