Finally!

Yes, spring has finally arrived here! it's still not exactly warm, and it looks like the temperature is going down again for the weekend, but even a day or two of milder and even sunny (today) weather is better than what we had before!

My camellia has been flowering for the last two weeks and I love the perfect flowers, even though they don't last very long. my smaller, red flowering variety is always much later! I see buds, but they'll need at least another week or two to open... the downside of those pretty blossoms - they have no scent whatsoever. it's like with some beautiful roses - the more special the flowers the less interesting the scent is - at least quite often... but there are very few insects about anyway - I only saw one bumblebee so far and no bees whatsoever, even though they are usually keen on the muscari flowers I have planted into pots and buckets in front of the house.

of course it hasn't only been gardening and flowers - I've been busy with textile stuff as well. an old project first - I thought I had forgotten to take pix, but I found one after all -  in a folder that I was moving. this is special, not because of the pattern, but because DS borrowed this hat - and lost it on the first outing:(

 

endless colour changes and just as many ends to darn in - and he just looses it after a single day of being worn:( that's not all - he also lost the handspun/handknit hat with reflective yarn in it!:( that finally pushed me over the edge - from now on it's only cheap bought hats for him, which oddly enough he never looses:( the pattern was a free one from ravelry - but I can't find the link just now. I thought about doing a replacement, but couldn't be bothered to do it all again anyway. given the fact that I am not a hat wearer.... and it's not exactly a very feminine pattern anyway! all sock wool leftovers....

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also finished the double knit harry potter cowl I had planned - and hope that he doesn't loose this as well! it was a good bit more work than the hat and I think I'd be beyond furious... it hasn't been cold enough to wear though - double knit with enough length to wind around the neck twice = quite warm, even on the bicycle:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the knitting was straightforward, essentially DK is just like knitting a rib with two colours, I think. the only thing I didn't like was doing the cast-on! I wanted an invisible one, but it is quite loose and twists every way, which makes closing the round quite difficult. eventually (after ripping out 640 sts several times:() I decided to knit the first row straight and only close the round after that.

the cast-on ends have to be darned in anyway, which makes closing the little hole very easy. the end with 640 sts of kitchener wasn't as bad as I thought - and I finished the other, shorter cowl at the same time. it was done with the leftover silk/wool yarn from the previous cowl, same colours, different patterns. on to the "gift" heap with it! I had less than 2 cm of black left after finishing the cowl - talking about playing yarn chicken:)

I also finished a pair of socks (for me), following a pattern of the "silk road socks" book by Hunter Hammersen - 2nd edition. the lace pattern is very simple, but quite effective. I've started another pair with it, in cotton, for the summer... 

 my friend has complained for a while that it's always too cold and windy, she'd like a hood, cowl etc... so I decided that I'd try to put both of them together. the yarn is a handspun merino blend. the make-up is quite simple, a large rectangle, which is put together along the cast-on edge for the hood. a ring knitted in the round for the cowl. attach hood to cowl, add drawstring - et voila, "howl" (hood and cowl:) finished...

the downside is pushing long hair inside it - but there's enough space, so it can be put up and the hood should still fit! I added the drawstring to make the face opening smaller in strong wind, and to bring the cowl part closer to the neck, if it gets very cold...

our textile group has another group project - a charity blanket for a children's hospice. we make granny triangles in bright colours to give a bit of joy - the families keep the blankets as mementos after such a difficult time. 

crocheting the triangles is very simple - the only thing that takes time is darning in the ends. because the pattern is so open, the threads are visible when crocheted in, so they all have to be darned in separately. and the triangles have to be steamed, because they are shaped like a bowl after finishing them:) I finished my batch - I am looking forward to our meeting on saturday to see if we have enough for one blanket - and how much yarn is left to maybe make a second one...  

this is the latest - and nearly last bit of my "favourite things" scarf. I have to finish the very last pattern, which will be the same as on the first bit, because the upper part will form the hood - and I wanted the sides to match where I put them together. still a lot to do though - I have to work the steek - and once that is done I have to knit a border... not sure if I'll line the hood to make it more wind-proof, but I do hope that I won't need the finished project during the summer:) no idea which colour to use for the edge though...

 

of course I need to spin as well - or I'll get very crabby after a few days without!

the plan is to work the hexa hap from Kate Davies' book about haps. I have spun enough lighter yarn to do the full hexagon, but I needed a second colour for the edge! I should have enough with the three skeins (300 g) of natural brown merino, I think. the white on the left is another skein of himalaya fibres with cashmere - and the yellow is merino....

which is in this photo as well - same yarn. these are the first three skeins of yarn for the "chestnut crescent" I want to knit for a friend. not sure if the golden yellow stays - I also spun a naturally dyed lighter yellow silk/wool blend that might be a better match.... most colours are green/blues and berries, but I'll finish all of them first before I decide which yarns I'll use. the hot pink will definitely not be a choice - it's too bright and would smother all the rest...

I've spun up 4 more colours by now plus the sari silk of the last post, which leaves another 3 or 4 100g batches to be finished....plus the knitting of course!

 

 

but I have to finish more of this as well! the deadline to spin and knit for the "rhodion" shawl by Elizabeth Freeman is end of june.... I bought 400 g of this mulberry silk, half of it is spun up now. but I think I'll need at least 300 g to knit the shawl full length - as a birthday present.... winding it into balls is endless - and also fiddly, because the silk is so slippery that the balls tend to fall apart...

 

I am also working on a summer dress for a child - another birthday gift that has to be ready mid-may! the fine denim yarn I tried first didn't look so nice, so I changed over to a medium dark blue - with pink little rose buds at the bottom of the skirt and across the top! the knitting of the skirt is quite boring, but perfect for tv knitting. the rhodion pattern however needs more attention and has a large chart to boost, so no tv while knitting lace.... and now - off into the garden, before the sun is gone again!

winter....

apparently it's cold and white everywhere! the uk has a cold snap, there's been loads of snow, esp. in southern germany - and parts of northern USA are in deep freeze as it seems... even ireland got a bit of a dusting! as you can see in the banner, which is from 2 days ago, we had a bit of a white wonderland for the last few days. I do like winter, esp. when it's sunny and cold, but not, when we have to travel on bikes - esp. in the dark and on icy roads:( I am a chicken, scared of falling, slipping, so in this weather I tend to stay at home if I can!

 

on the other hand it's the perfect excuse to stay inside - and knit or spin! someone has to make hats, scarves and blankets!:) I've been working on several things at once. after christmas all I wanted was a bigger project, without much sewing or putting together, just plain knitting row after row... together with an acute case of starteritis that meant one cowl (peduncle silk and beads) that I work on at the kitchen table. one cowl for tv knitting, spinning of course, and a pair of socks, following a pattern from the book by Hunter Hammersen, silk road socks. I was quite disappointed when I found out that the first print was oop and only to be had for silly prices in 2nd hand. but a little while back the 2nd batch was published and I snatched one copy up as soon as!

ehm, I had planned to show the finished sock here... but apparently I haven't taken a pic yet. ok, will have to wait until 2nd sock is finished so - sorry about that:(

 

what you see here is part of the hp cowl I've started. in double knitting, to avoid endless floats... it feels nice and warm... 

but the downsize is that I have to knit endless rows - 640 sts per row, to be precise! which is ok in general, but no fun if you made a mistake and have to knit back:( which I discovered after a few rows of knitting the pattern! I spend one evening with tinking just 2 rows - and knitting one of them new again:(  

and just now I discovered (only when seeing the pic!) that there is another mistake, albeit a small one... I am so not going to knit back again - this would mean half the cowl! I think a bit of swiss darning is in order - once the cowl is done! I am playing yarn chicken as it is - it'll be very close, but I ordered the yarn from germany and there won't be time to order and finish knitting in time for the birthday, if I don't have enough:(  

I have a bit of a twinge in the left shoulder, so I can't knit for hours on end. but I can't sit empty-handed either, so I got myself a new toy: the zoom loom from schacht! I've been ogling that for a good while now, and when I saw a good offer (from australia of all places:) shortly before christmas, I couldn't stop myself. it arrived on the 24th of december, a perfect gift to myself:) it's simple, very portable, easy to do, and doesn't use the same movements as knitting - so it's a good way to spend my time, when I need a break!

 

and it's handy for using up all those small balls of handspun yarns, leftovers from bigger projects, test spins that weren't needed etc. one square is 10 x 10 cm or 4 in - and needs very little yarn. I am going to make a small mountain first, of whatever yarn I can find - and might put together a blanket later...  

 

of course I also have other projects on the go. our textile craft group is going to make a charity blanket, lots of small granny triangles... and we're also making a nativity scene as a group project. only due for christmas of course, but I am going to make one of the three kings/wise men - so in my mind I am already planning how to make the figurine, how to decorate etc.. I am no good at needle felting, not good at sculpturing in general, so I'll have to find a way to make a doll shape first. the decorating can be as over the top as I like - kings are usually colourful with rich clothes after all:) I'll let it "stew" in my head for a while - and maybe I'll browse the net a bit to get a few ideas...

 

then there's the spinning and knitting project of the Chestnut Crescent by Kieran Foley. I bought mainly berry and turquoise/blue/petrol colours for this - plus some sari silk fibres to add a bit of zing! couldn't resist that of course and spun it up first. it's a two ply, 100 g of it - which should be enough as an effect yarn with the merino I still have to spin. the shawl is a riot of colour and uses gradient colours in parts, so now I have to decide whether I should blend and spin my own gradients - or spin the colours separately and just knit with lots and lots of them? I have enough to do a few small test runs - but first I have to finish the last batch of natural dark brown merino - for the hexa hap I've planned, as a contrast yarn.

 

with all this fibrey stuff going on - maybe I should wish for more winter to come? once spring is on the way, gardening will take over - and time will be in short supply again...

time flies....

.... I can't believe that it'll only be another 2 months and a bit - and it'll be Christmas! maybe it's because the weather has turned mild again after a few colder days? it doesn't feel like winter - though the leaves have pretty much fallen. I love my little japanese maple above. the colour changes from green with a slightly red tinge to this fiery red within a day or two! unfortunately that colour won't last long either - another week or so and it's bare - like now. there isn't much colour on the patio left, apart from the few red leaves on the blueberries it's only a bit of green and nothing else..... I am always envious of gardens in the subtropics at this time of the year - but then I'd have to suffer their heat during summer as well, so maybe it's all for the best😏

 

the good thing about the change in season is that knitting weather is back! I mostly spun during the summer, knitted only small bits and pieces, mainly in cotton - but now it's time for longer evenings inside in front of the wheel or with bigger, woolly knitting projects in front of the TV. and it's high time, too - the christmas gifts won't knit themselves!

 

I also finished the one skein of autumn colour I started at the WWSIP last month. I grabbed everything in yellow, orange, red, some lighter green and a bit of silk - to make rolags on my blending board.

 from this mess.....

...to pretty rolags only takes a little while. but what a change!

 ...to this skein. it looks like a lot, when you have a shoebox full of rolags, but spun up it's only one skein after all! I do like the colour though - it'll be a good choice for "autumn", when I put together some advent calendars I want to use as gifts....

to our great surprise we had our first walnuts this year! the tree is huge, but never did a thing before - maybe it's down to the for us warm and dry summer? anyway, I got all excited - not because I like walnuts (I do:), but because this was the first time I was able to use the green hulls for dyeing! of course I didn't wear gloves, when I found the nuts - so by the time I was inside again my hands had turned a lovely, deep brown already. no need to start wearing gloves  for peeling and chopping, but I had brown stained hands for two weeks or so:) good thing I don't work in a kitchen or restaurant!  

I had mordanted about 500 g of teeswater top already, because the original plan was to pick reed flowers to dye green. but either the weather was too bad to wander down to the bog - or I was busy with other things. there's no need to pre-mordant for walnuts, but it doesn't do harm either, so after simmering the nuts I immediately dumped a small bit of fibres in that hadn't taken up any colour in a dye bath with purple fungi! look at the full dark brown of that small skein! I added a second batch into the dye bath, about 100 g this time - and it's still a lovely shade of brown - even though I am not usually a fan of beiges and brown! I did do a third batch, which ended up a teddy brown - but I haven't spun that one up yet. a lot of colour for the hulls of about 30 nuts! I do hope for more in the coming years..... one good thing coming from climate change?

I am also still trying to spin up my fibre stash! this came as a huge white cloud (batt), 25 % cashmere, 75 % "himalaya fibres". it was a gift, but I assume that those fibres are very soft wool... it's nice and squishy - good for next to the skin items. I also learned to spin long draw with this fibre - works like a dream.... because it's so fluffy it's fairly thick for me - I tend to spin thread rather than yarn most of the time:)  

some of it I turned into this cowl. the german pattern is called  Teufelszwirn,  devil's thread, named after a plant, has nothing to do with the devil, bad vibes or anything like that! the cowl is knit in a lacy pattern, but the holes of that lace come out in unexpected places - and the cowl is worn inside out! the effect is rather 3 D - easy to knit, but I hope nice to wear for the recipient as well..... for me that cowl would only be wearable in the coldest of winter, but then my friend lives in Bavaria, where the winters are usually colder than here! (the pattern is available in english now!) 

for my cold winters I am still working on the second part of the scarf for my scood! on the first side there are dogs at the bottom, so this side needed some cats. I adapted a chart I found online, with a few paw prints at the bottom. I still want to knit a Harry Potter inspired cowl, but I couldn't resist adding "dolores umbridge" colours to this one:) 

the next pattern after a small peerie is going to be owls - which are nearly finished by now. only in hindsight did I realize that owls would be a good HP pattern as well... not sure what I'll knit up next, maybe frogs? or spinning wheels? or some graphic pattern? to be continued....  

and to make sure that I won't run out of spinning fibres any time soon, I used up the rest of the mordanted teeswater by dyeing it brazilwood red. I like madder reds, but they don't suit me. brazilwood reds however are "blueish" reds, which I can wear much better. this batch isn't going to end up as a garment though - I am still dyeing more teeswater for my "Persian Dreams" blanket! I still need blues and maybe some stronger greens, and of course enough spun yarn for the basic colour, though I am still not sure if that should be left natural white - or dyed in a darker colour? there are lovely photos on ravelry - but they make it harder to decide which colour to choose! 

the brazilwood comes in powder form - which I inherited from a late dyer friend, who sent me a kg of it last year. I am going to be very mean with it, because it's next to impossible to find anymore after the ban on brazilwood, but I did need to check if it was the real thing - or a replacement, some of which only give apricot or light rose tones!

 

the other "problem" I have right now is that the same designer published a new pattern - at least as stunning as the persian dreams! it's called Indian Nights and I think it's simply spectacular! I get itchy fingers just by looking at it:) and I could even make one for our own sofa, because the dogs don't seem very interested in it anymore, after we exchanged the very old bottom cushions for new ones. it's not cheap in the original yarn, but then it's not a pattern for a quick knit that goes out of fashion any time soon.... I am extremely tempted:)

but before all that I have to make my last batch of blackberry jam - so off to do kitchen duty!





 

passwords?

logging into this account is like entering fort knox by now:( first it doesn't recognize my password (I had the right one, because I put them down in writing!). then, when I finally get a code to change it, I get complaints that it's not safe enough! I tried and tried - and finally, when I chose a very insulting one, it worked! apparently you have to use swearwords now to get into your account:) but don't forget to add a number or a sign - or you'll get another complaint....

ok, so here I am. change of plan - instead of more gardening I am going to stay inside - it's raining... I measured and calculated all my finished skeins of yarn instead and labelled them... well, nearly all of them. I didn't bother with two. one is a small sample from a fibre book I took part in years ago. I threw out most of them eventually (too high-risk for moths!) and kept only special ones. I think this one is very special - it's not made from wire! but it feels like it:) no idea why I kept it - maybe because it's a natural brown?

 I lost the label in the bag, so I don't know which breed it is. but it must be something double-coated! some double cuts as well, but I was able to pick those out before or during carding. some very long brown guard hair - which I tried to pull out. some wiry, dark brown "hair" and medium grey-brown main fibres. I wouldn't call it down - more like pot scrubber feeling, but I spun it anyway. and either it was poorly scoured or not at all - it was quite greasy, but didn't smell like unwashed. mystery fibres anybody? long story cut short: not something I'd buy in a hurry - I think I might give it to a friend, who can unspin it again to use as a dwarf's beard.... it's too small to be saved for rug weaving - maybe a massage glove?

the second small skein that I won't measure is - boucle! I've been spinning for so long, but I've never tried boucle before. I was re-reading part of Sarah Anderson's book about yarn design and because I had also found and spun a sample of white mohair, I thought I'd give it a try. of course it was late and I was too lazy to dig around for a base yarn, so I chose a dove blue commercial 2ply, I think a mix of viscose or silk or something else shiny with linen? anyway, plying the first time wasn't terribly difficult - as long as the base yarn has the extra twist released regularly! I thought maybe I should put it on a spindle and let it dangle, but as I said - it was late and I kept going. 

some spots are ok, nice and loopy.... 

 in others I didn't have enough "room" for the loops, they plied too tightly to push up properly - like here. the loops can't open if they don't have enough yarn to even form loops!

 and of course the yarn turned out quite hard - entirely my own fault, because I used a white linen yarn (commercial) for the binder. did I mention that I found the fine (and much softer) silk a day later? well, it looks like boucle, but there is loads of room to improve! I started a fine white alpaca for the 2nd try - I put the fine silk aside already - all I need now is a reasonably soft yarn as base. because it gets more twist added during the ply I think I should be safe with a commercial wool yarn... of course Sarah Anderson is absolutely right in saying that using all wool/silk makes dyeing your boucle so much easier! maybe I shouldn't spin all my stash - we might be doing a "worldwide spin in public" event in September - I hope I have enough fibres left by then for a day of spinning:) 

I couldn't leave without a picture of my favourite fuchsia right now! it didn't look like much after spending the winter in the polytunnel, but after re-potting and fertilizing it again, it has recovered splendidly! I like fuchsias in general - they have such interesting flower shapes, but this one has a very pleasing tone-in-tone colour, whereas most of my others have a strong contrast, either white-pink, white red or, very common here and even growing wild is "fuchsia" with a purplish corolla... and it has nearly round buds - most of the others are much longer and thinner. 

they don't mind the rain as much as petunias, they really flower all summer long, they even form edible berries (no great taste though) and they are easy to grow from cuttings - what else could a gardener want?:) they look like little ballerinas with flowing skirts, arms outstretched!

off to do a bit more alpaca spinning - and finishing my second shopping net. I changed the design of the base - so now I am going to change the handle as well!

On time?

I am a bit late with posting the results of my TdF sessions... but first we had a lot of rain (no good light for photos inside) and then other things had to be done and it kind of slipped my mind. but today I found all of the skeins - and the weather was at least dry! so here are my results of 2 weeks of spinning:

doesn't look like all that much? actually it's only 499 g - but 2276 meters altogether! the last batch, the pinkish cotton, took a lot longer than the other fibres - it's short and I haven't spun cotton for a good while, had to get used to that again. but at least another small batch is done now; I just have to work up all those small samples and dye tests! and all of them are plied - so that makes it double the kilometers?:) I count the cotton as my challenge - though that makes it sound worse than it actually was. it's just a big jump from the smooth long-fibred silk to the much shorter cotton.

 this colour combo reminds me of neapolitan ice cream:)

when I had finished the cotton, I started on another leftover, a small amount of superwash wool, dyed with coffee a small eternity ago. the colour isn't too bad, but I don't like the feel of the fibres, artifical and somehow sticky. but at least it's done now - that was the very last remnant of superwash fibres I've had in stash!

on the right side is a sample of "Gentile di Puglia", not merino soft, but with a very nice crimp and super to spin with a long draw! it's bouncy and lofty and would make a very nice sweater - if only I had more of the fibres! it's from a fibre book exchange - and I have no idea where to find more of that.... but I am sure there are similar breeds available closer to home.

I handcarded that - and right now I have  light brown fibres on the wheel - no idea which breed, but fairly long, a bit rougher - and unfortunately with some 2nd cuts that I have to pick out. what a difference to the apricot silk brick:)



we had our crafter's meeting last week and I needed a small gift, so I decided to try a pattern for a "shopping bag" I found a while back. it should be washable, so I used some cotton for it. you start with a circular base and do the main part in a very open yarnover pattern. a simple and quick knit, but I found that I had to change the handle design a bit. it's obvious that the bag stretches when filled - but I don't like handles that grow longer every time I use them! so I knitted that part in garter stich as given in the pattern - but added a line of attached i-cord on each side. this makes it much more stable I hope. I started a 2nd one immediately, but changed the design of the circular bottom. I see "baggy" times coming, but they are perfect as gifts, so I'll make a few of them, but I'll change the pattern slightly each time - don't want to bore myself endlessly:)

 

  Pringles of course had to check out what I was doing - I am not sure that he approves, but he's a bit out of sorts, because we had to go to the vet with him today (nothing major, just a small injury on the chin - probably a bite from a fight...). giving him his AB 4 days in a row is another story.... dogs are so much easier to treat, at least when they are as greedy as ours. just roll it in a bit of cheese, they'll swallow it whole! with the cat we need one person to hold him, and another to stuff the tablet in, hold his mouth shut and blow into his face until it's down... which usually gets both persons nicely scratched and a huffy cat running off under a shelf or cupboard! why don't they develop a nice, fishy tasting tablet just for cats???

time's ticking.... for the Tour de Fleece

.... only a few more days to go and I have the feeling that I didn't spin all that much! the cyclists certainly had a worse deal:) but I did finish the apricot coloured silk - and the handle is lovely. I think it would make a nice cowl or even longer shawl. it only weighs 117 g, but has a yardage of about 750 m! that's not too bad for a single skein and I am sure that I'll find a nice pattern for it - something lacy I think! I'll admit though that the pink of the rose isn't exactly a great match😉

I also dug out two smaller balls of narrow top - I think this must be soy silk, because it is just a narrow band (and doesn't smell like silk when wet)... the silk above was from a brick, much wider and I had much more to spin. both of those together are less than 50 g - and they're already spun and plied! I plied both with a light grey wool/silk blend - but it's dripping wet and not terribly attractive just now! Originally I thought I'd make two separate yarns, 2plies. but it was so little that I know I'd only end up with two balls of yarn that are never used.... as it is I now have two full bobbins of yarn - enough for a proper project.

I am not sure what I'll spin next - first I have to do a small "in between" knitting project as a small gift that's needed on saturday - so today (and tomorrow?) are going to be my rest days during the TdF - after the change of the challenge days there isn't much left of the original structure - I am just spinning away without restrictions... but I think I'll grab one of the chunky skeins of teeswater from the shed again - maybe the minty green tone? more yarns for my Persian Tile blanket.

 

but before I go (more watering to do, what else?) I should really introduce you to the "new" member of our household - very belatedly! this is Maisie - who has been living here for more than 2 years now. after Dobby died we only had Minnie left (and the cat, of course), and the house felt so empty that we decided to look for another dog. Dobby wasn't able to walk much anymore and I wanted a dog that's fit enough to go on walks with me, so I contacted the local MSPCA if I could come and look. Maisie was about 1 year old, fully grown and scared of people! well, no, not scared, more like terrified. she most likely hadn't been socialised to humans at all, left in a barn or shed to herself, the poor dog.  it took me a good while to gain her trust, but eventually she realized that we don't mean her harm - and after a few weeks she was totally changed! she's still afraid of strangers, but around the house she's happy and carefree - and she loves walks, running around in the bog and playing with Minnie and the cat - happy ending?!  we don't have many visitors, if we do she can hide if she wants to - other than that she fits in so well that we think we picked the perfect dog - for us at least:)

how embarrassing!

I was up early today - brilliant sunshine outside, even though everything was covered in hoarfrost. but after many grey days sunshine always gives me an instant boost, so I started to sort out a corner in the shed... where I discovered a large plastic box. I thought it was only a few bags of unspun fibres in there - but no, it wasn't ! out came this lot:

 ehm, yes, I had totally forgotten about all those yarns! most of them handspun, some handdyed commercial sock yarns... how on earth could I forgot them? I think I should knit more and spin less - at least for a while! I put them out to get rid of the moth ball smell - and now I have to think hard about what to do with them. a lot of the purple ones are from a cochineal dye session some years back. the white stuff is half wool, half silk, plied with a fine commercial silk. the black on the left is pure alpaca, some naturally "honey" mohair etc.. I blame DH, because the studio isn't finished yet - and I have to spread out all my materials:)

I also found some commercial and hand dyed sock yarns in balls - and I thought I had sorted through the lot and put everything in one box. apparently not... I was desperate for some lighter green, when I did the spring wreath - found it now, just a little bit too late:(

to change the topic - Mr Pringles wasn't too sure about that odd white stuff on the grass! you could see his doubts already, when he ran across the gravel - which normally crunches and moves, but was frozen tight this morning! so he veeeery carefully checked out this odd grass, one foot at a time - and when he noticed that it's somehow still wet, but also "crunchy" he did a mad dash across the road and up the wall on the other side:) I think cats are absolutely hilarious, when they try to avoid cold or wet feet!

new year, more blogging?

well, I had planned to do more blogging, but that was not to be. shortly before christmas I started to write a new entry - but before I could finish and add pix - our computer was attacked by ransomware - which made me loose all pictures and files that I didn't save elsewhere - quite a lot, because I neglected moving things to other media - and got punished for this! we refused to give in and pay, which of course meant that everything that was encrypted was lost:( by now the "box" is working again, but of course all the old files remain lost. I was furious (still am, though less vocal about it:) - but decided to try and find a positive side to this: loosing all the stuff means that I don't have to sort through the whole collection to decide what to keep, what to print etc...

 

of course it also means that I lost the pictures of the stuff I made during the last few months, so what you see here is only the very recent stuff that was still in the camera.

Because I don't have a local yarn shop, I tend to buy my sock yarns in batches. this is the latest haul. the red and red/green/white is a special edition from here - I liked the free pattern provided, so decided to order some for a sock knitting friend in germany and for myself - we can share the red!  

I also bought some sock yarn with angora, two balls of sock yarn with cotton (not for socks, but for baby "dolls") and a sock yarn, where the photo on the homepage looked more purple and the name - something with grapes or wine? - sounded more purple as well:) turned out more blue than anything, but never mind, it will be used eventually... just not for myself I'd say!

 

the yarn with angora was used to knit bed socks as a gift - very cushy, soft and warm - though maybe less durable than normal sock yarn? 

before christmas I had made a seasonal wreath as a gift - but of course the photo of that one is lost. never mind, I have to admit that I like this one for spring much better anyway:) I tried to find spring flowers, daffodils, bluebells, forget-me-nots, a fat bumble bee and of course - living in ireland - a shamrock won't go amiss. the idea is to make other flowers that can be added - or exchanged depending on the seasons (sunflowers, poppies, fuchsias etc. come to mind). the flowers are only attached with pins, easy to exchange. I have quite a lot of sock yarn in storage, in colours suitable for flowers, but I think I have to dye a nice green or two myself, because I haven't found suitable greens - I don't want to pay a fortune for indie-dyed yarns, when I only need a few meters for a leaf or two!

 

 

this project took some time to finish - a denim vest for my grandnephew. it turned out to be a bit too large, but I am quite sure he will grow into it:) the yarn is real denim yarn = will change colour during washing and wearing. the problem wasn't in the knitting - I just couldn't find a suitable zipper that opens at the bottom, in the right length and colour. eventually I admitted defeat and asked a friend in germany to get one for me...  

I have made quite a few wrist warmers in similar style. for the first one I followed the pattern "elf clobber" , but with every pair I made I changed it slightly. the red is a simple k2/p2 rib, alpaca dyed with lac, the grey is a mix of silk and merino. this is the last in the series, and here I left out the crochet bit altogether to replace it with ruffles, simple increases of purl sts in between the k2 from the rib. the grey is finished with an attached i-cord, to keep the edge from rolling up.

 

may I introduce you to another adoptee in this household? before christmas, on a dreary, wet, windy and cold day DS came home late from school - carrying a little bundle in his bag, a bedraggled, wet and half-starved kitten! of course we couldn't just throw the little fellow out, so my son had to cycle back to town in the yucky weather to by cat food for kittens! that has been about 3 months ago - see the result:) after a bit of debate we named him Mr Pringles (part of it is from "the green mile" and the mouse mr jingles, the other part from my sons's favourite snack - pringles). he is quite affectionate, loves cuddles and purrs as if he had swallowed a small car:) of course he has silly ideas and is up to no good when bored - but he's so cute with it that it's hard to be annoyed at him for long! I did learn my lesson though and started to pack away beads, tools, yarn balls etc. when pausing in my work! too much temptation for a cat teenager maybe?:)

 

I also joined the online guild of weavers, spinners and dyers again. the land group, where we meet every second month, is alright, but doesn't give me much in the way of inspiration and certainly not much in learning new techniques. we seem to cater mostly for beginners of all kinds of crafts these days - and given that I dabble in most of them myself, I rarely find anything that interests me and provides a challenge. so I am looking forward to several of the courses online during the coming year - and hope that I'll find enough time to try my hand at some new things!

 

the "two entries a year" blog....

hello again! long time no see, I know... they say that the days are getting shorter and it's true! somehow there are never enough hours in a day:) by the time I've finished everything I meant to do (and often not even that!) the day is over and I haven't blogged - again. so - I'll try to be better!

 

anyway, of course I've finished many things during the past few months. I didn't exactly count all the socks I finished, but there must have been at least 10 or more pairs... some went out so fast that I didn't even take pictures. I did a few for myself, tried out a few new patterns and one new cast-on.

difficult to see here, but I started by doing the shells on top of the rib. it's done with a cast-on over a crochet hook, easy to do, found it somewhere on pinterest. the green sock on the left has a pattern that's called laburnum, and the "christmassy" looking sock on the right - is from the same book (Charlene Schurch), but I forgot the name:) both hand-dyed yarns; I think the green was done with food dyes, and the red with the colour crabapple plus leftovers from Gaywool Dyes. 

I am also working on a men's cardigan, made from soft donegal (from Donegal Tweed Company in Kilkarra). the pattern is from the new book by Anna Zilboorg, splendid apparel. there are lots of different patterns, all shown "naked" and also embroidered, the main feature of the book. I will finish the pattern first and see how much adornment via embroidery I'll add - it's for a man, so shouldn't be overly much decorated! I did a gauge, which I often skip, but I thought that the pattern will draw in a bit - and it does!

I also used up the yarn blend yak/silk, dyed with lac, which I originally used for knitting the Morvarch shawl. it was a bit too smooth/silky to my liking for the morvarch, but it drapes perfectly for the "rosered" cowl from "enchanted knits". and it's very soft and lovely to wear. 

I wasn't sure if I could finish another small cowl with the little bit of leftover - but it worked. I had about 5 m left, when I did the cast-off on this feather-and-fan cowl. oddly enough this is my favourite just now - not quite as close to the neck, good for the not yet very cold days on the bicycle:)

 

 

this is the pattern "olive garden", free on ravelry. it drapes beautifully, esp. due to the many beads that are used in the design. I added two pattern repeats to make it a bit larger and it is nice to wear - and very nice to knit! the only drawback to the pattern is that the last row (crocheted!) takes ages - because of all the added beads. but it's worth all the work, I think! 

I also started to use up some of the "tons" of leftover bits of sockwool. I quickly got hooked on the beekeeper's quilt pattern, lots of little hexagons, filled with polyfill. I didn't think of a use for them at first, but suddenly realized that they'll make nice covers for my garden chairs. they are washable, but soft and squishy, nice to sit on - and use up bits and pieces. I need about 10 m for each and it takes approx. 20 minutes to finish one hexie. bit by bit the bag filled - and after about 100+ hexies plus a bit of sewing and an attached i-cord all around....

 

 

.... the pillows were finished:) in the meantime two more bags of sockwool bits have arrived, so that I'll probably have enough to start a small cover/blanket from it. I think I'd sort the colours a bit though, less higgledypiggledy, more colour coded, maybe mostly blues? I don't have enough of purple sock yarns for a big project:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I also finished a table mat in EPP. the recipient loves ox-eyed daisies, so I picked out different whites (some pure white, some with white-on-white prints), some yellow/orangey tones and the green/white/yellow base fabric. I didn't fussy-cut the background, but I did try to have the pattern match a little bit, to avoid odd cut-offs. after finishing the top, I made a ring out of hexies in background fabric, which followed the edge pattern. when folded over, it makes a nice edge, instead of a regular binding. another thing I found on pinterest:) there's no quilting again - I just knotted embroidery floss into the yellow middles to fuse the thermolam and the background fabric to the top. but for some reason blogger doesn't allow me to push the photo to the left, like the rest... maybe that's my punishment for not blogging for so long?:)

anyway - that's enough for now, I think. I hope to blog more regularly again now that monsoon season is upon us again!