A rare day out of the office, "working at home" meant that when the temperature got too hot for me I headed for the coolest place I know - Stash in Putney!
A couple of hours knitting and a small amount of retail therapy (I only bought one skein.... but what a skein) and I felt nearly human. This was followed by a trip over to Nickerjac's studio to retrieve some of my yarn, needles and blanket that she has kindly stored for me over over a year!
I resisted the urge to go to the preview of Liberty's sale, though will probably arrive early tomorrow to see if the gang have left me anything. I'm trying to be good as I head off for the KCG AGM next weekend.
The evening has been spent working and there is some progress through the paper mountain that this qualification generates. I'll do more tomorrow before going out to play.
I've resisted the lure of the knitting and the call of the new yarn. I finished the hat I started last week but can't show the picture yet as I think I'm going to give it away as a gift. The Lotus tank continues and I'm thinking about trying to find where I hid the Annie Modesitt corset I started last year
A safe journey to all of you heading for Woolfest this weekend. We'd ruled out attending as Matt was due to have an op this week and would not be able to drive, as luck would have it the op was cancelled but at too short notice for us to sort out finances for the trip, pout!
Oh.... you wanted to see the yarn... here it is
Sea Silk by Handmaiden yarns in the vintage colourway.
I spent a lot of time yesterday travelling to Birmingham and back for a KCG commitee meeting. London Transport and the train companies conspired to make the journeys about twice as long as usual so there was plenty of knitting time. Some progess was made on the Lotus tank and on a piece of exchange knitting.
After the meeting I managed to catch up with Jan and Mavis, two ladies I met at the NEC earlier this year. Jan had been busy knitting items for the knitted garden project and I got to carry a box of them home with me. Whilst talking to them I discovered what a small world the world of knitting is - they told me that they had found out about my blog from Mavis' penfriend who lives in Taiwan!
My copy of Knitting Nature finally arrived and I love it! I like the fact that most of the garment patterns would fit me, there are several that I can see me actually wearing and i've made a small start on one of the hats using Rowan Yorkshire Tweed.
One thing I'm not making progress on is the Shoalwater shawl that I started in the Fibreworks 2ply, I'm not enjoying this so it's off to the frogpond and I'll think again about which pattern will work, this yarn is too special to be wasted on something i'm not happy with.
Kerrie at Hipknits has a competition going to celebrate her birthday - so never being one to resist a party I thought I'd better join in!
1. I'm the eldest of 4 girls
2. I have 4 nieces and 1 nephew
3. I live at No.4
4. It would take me 4 lifetimes to knit up my stash (more like 40 according to Matt)
5. I hate bananas
6. I love mangos
7. I've worked for the same employer for 30 years - I hate to quit until I have a project totally finished to my satisfaction.
8. I've been married to the same man for 25 years!
9. I enjoy spending time alone - especially with my lace knitting
10. I usually carry at least 1 knitting project with me whenever I go out, sometimes 2 or 3
11. I use a Palm to record all the yarn requirements for favourite patterns
12. I prefer to knit on circulars
13. I regret that I never learnt how to make bobbin lace from my Gran
14. I am hard of hearing
15. I love purples, reds and blues.
16. I enjoy talking to anyone about knitting
17. I knit at the bus stop, on the bus, in the pub etc
18. I hate housework
19. I'm supposed to be studying for another qualification but can't concentrate in this heat
20. I don't like the heat unless I'm near water and can go for a swim
21. I enjoy cooking, especially when I have time to experiment
22. The best things that I bake are chocolate brownies
23. I'm diabetic so shouldn't eat them
24. I enjoy the challenge of knitting lace, I've bought the Wedding Ring Shawl pattern but may save knitting it for my retirement!
25. I have a loose gauge due to arthritic hands
26. I've never managed to knit a pair of socks
27. I'm the Social Inclision and Outreach Officer for the Knitting and Crochet Guild
28. I enjoy pottering around new places
29. I enjoy searching through charity shops for vintage patterns
30. I'm going on tour in the autumn with the Knitted Garden
London was far too hot and humid for us today. Matt took me on a mystery drive and we ended up at Dungeness - more well known for it's power station! The area surrounding it is now a nature reserve and we love the mish mash of shanties, cottages and boats
We had a good time pottering around looking at some of the properties, some of them were artist studios taking part in an open studio event
Poppies were everywhere along with sea kale, foxgloves and loads of other marsh plants I could not name
After a while I got tired of all the walking and sat down to some serious knitting. The Lotus tank is growing steadily - especially as I've given up with the addi turbos and moved on to bamboo needles - I feel I have more control over it and I'm getting a better gauge.
No I don't plan to under the earlier section - one of the benefits of being an English pear shape is that I can get away with gradual reduction in needle size as a means of making garments fit.
Once our stomaches started rumbling we headed to Folkestone for a Fish supper and a walk round the harbour
There is something about this harbour wall that appeals to me, I love the subtle colours and the angles of the stones
The harbour area was winding down, the catch had all been landed, the people had drifted off and this was the view from the harbour wall.
England doesn't look too bad on a sunny day!
I bought the yarn for this at Stash Yarns last week and was hoping to have made more progress than I have. This is partly due to the exciting life that I lead at times! (not!!)
In other words , I've worked a lot of hours this week, leaving home by 7am and returning @ 9pm most days and have a bagful of files and a memory stick full of further work to do this weekend!
There was additional excitement on Monday when I was asked at short notice to be video interviewed for one of the biggest yarn suppliers. I was a bit apprehensive but was made to feel very comfortable and after a few G&T's got around to telling the interviewer what I thought of that company's yarn; knitting in general; knitting websites and blogs etc etc etc.
Two hours later they ran out of tape! The real joy was discovering that the interviewer was a knitter and then teaching her to finger knit!
For Maylin
The Banana comment came about from reading Juliet's blog - I was reading her's and discovered that not only do we hate the same things, we are knitting the same top in the same colour! Juliet and I have been on the same yahoo group for over 5 years and I get to meet up with her when I go to Glasgow for a Relax and Knit bash. Just think what havoc we could cause if you and your flat friend came to join us!
I was fortunate to be able to spend some time visiting the Knit Japan exhibitions at Ally Pally and Harrogate last year. I managed to talk to some of the exhibitors and was fascinated by their work.
This morning I found a copy of Workbox in the newsagents and was pleased to see an article about the exhibition which helped fill in some of mmy knowledge gaps. I will go back to my Flickr photos and make sure that the work is given it's proper accreditation.
Many of you know that I am fighting a battle with my stash, only this week I removed 7 sacks of odd balls from my lounge and there is still more to be excavated! I promised Matt that I would curb my yarn buying until my birthday and would only allowed myself 4 balls of Bamboo to make the Lotus top from the summer IK and any Rowan Yorkshire Tweed DK from the Liberty sale.
Having made that resolution - Monday saw the arrival of 3 skeins of Knit Picks Shimmer; Tuesday 500 gms Wagtail farms 8ply; Wednesday a WLK Secret Pal package with handknit socks and 2 balls of vintage 8ply. Thursday I went to STASH YARNS in Putney where I bought the bamboo and a small gift for Yvette. I also bought 1 pattern and felt quite pleased with myself for sticking to my plan. Friday I received a copy of the Australian Creative Knitting Magazine and Saturday I went back to STASH Yarns!!
Two visits to a yarn shop in 3 days means that the shop is something special, the airconditioning alone was well worth the 2 hours it took me to get there!
Saturday was special as I was in the shop when Mary H. arrived ( I haven't seen her since last October) and she stayed for a couple of hours. I've always admired Mary's knitting, she churns out the most complex designs in a few weeks. in a few years I may forgive her for buying the bag I was lusting after....
here's a few photos from Thursday.....
Michelle demonstrating how comfy the chairs are for knitting
The wall of Brown Sheep yarn, I must find my old copy of IK withe the jacket I want to knit in this yarn!
Great to know that people can see and buy Tess (Silkwood) yarn without having to wait for a show
note the nearly empty places - that was where I got the bamboo from!
One skein of yarn caught my attention and I kept revisiting it - thank goodness I have some willpower - I think this is the most expensive skein I have ever held
Hand Maiden yarn - each one uniquely beautiful
Yvette was visiting from France for a few days, she managed a visit to Stash on Thursday before I could get there. I met up with her later in the day for some bead shopping and tea in Liberty's, I had a small gift for her - the blur indicates the speed in which she dived into the bag! Saturdays purchases included a few patterns for me and more yarn for Yvette!
I finished the Bombshell using the contrast yarn as planned. Then I started moving my stash out of the flat and into the garage - you've guessed it - I found the missing ball! So this evening I have undone the moss stitch and restarted with the original colour!
The sun was shining at the weekend, my Mum was on holiday at her sister's so Matt drove me to Brighton. We had a great afternoon walking along the beach and a fish and chip supper. My Aunt had finished the Debbie Bliss jacket that I gave her the yarn for on her birthday last year and had really enjoyed working on it - so that makes this year's present an easy option ... more yarn.
Mum and Una looked through the Big Girl Knits book and thanks to them I have now cast on for Boobalicious using some Cathay from the mill shop, not sure if my hands will appreciate all of that moss stitch!
The yarn for the Peacock shawl is decided ( well it's got to the swatching stage) and it's Knit Picks Shimmer with thanks to a very generous friend! The colour way she chose had 3 main colours - two of which match the 2 new skirts I bought last week!
I'm thinking of the Wagtail for the Paisley shawl - just need to swatch to see which will work best a solid mid -blue that just gleams or a variegated cream/purple orchid colour mix.
I still need to decide on a project to keep me occupied for the World Cup as the baby knitting should be off the needles by the weekend.
I've finally acknowledged that the stash is totally out of control - 7 sacks of odd balls have been moved out into the garage and there is still more to go! Those friends that I have addresses for might need to watch their mailboxes in the next month as I wade through all of this!
Thanks to my SP8 pal for sending me the two Fiddlesticks Knitting patterns for the Peacock Feathers shawl and the Paisley Stole - I should have been working on anyone of 3 existing projects instead I've been surfing the net looking for suitable yarn!
After a conversation with Dawn this afternoon, I was reminded that I have STASH and should go shopping there first of all, so I spent this evening rooting through various bags and boxes of yarn and have come to the conclusion that I have nothing fine enough in sufficient quantity. I do have some Wagtail yarn 4ply left that is telling me it wants to be a Peacock, I could go up a needle size and the shawl would end up slightly larger - what do you think?
A sneak preview of my gift for the Rowan Hearth and Home Exchange. I found the yarns in my stash, thought I'd have a go at a sample swatch - the next thing I knew I was 1/3rd of the way through what I had planned to knit.
Added later......
Dawn - it's a secret I'm trying very hard to keep!
Sue - it's easy enough, stash yarn and a ripple stitch pattern - you could churn one out in a weekend - it will take me longer!
A good evening at Liberty's with visits from Mary - Lou; Yvonne and Tallulah; several new members and I managed to get some more knitting done on the Bombshell.This looks like it could be another quick knit as I reckon I'm at least 3/4 of the way through it.
No note arrived with this but I'm assuming the package was from my SP8 pal - if so thank you so much, I've been coveting these patterns for ages! Thanks also for the little notebook and the very pretty stitchmarkers which will get used on my current project.
Current knitting is Bombshell from Big Girl Knits using All Seasons Cotton; the pink frilly thing; Rowan Hearth and Home exchange and finishing Neroli. If I manage all of them this month I'll be happy!