A great package from my SP8 pal arrived yesterday morning. Two wonderful skeins of Lorna's Laces in Black Purl ; a skein of merino laceweight that my pal had dyed herself; a lavender bag and some coilless pins.
The merino is a beautiful deep shade which my camera refuses to catch - sorry!
I'll be hunting through the patterns to find something to do these yarns justice
I finished this tank a few weeks ago and it has already become a favourite in the heat of London. As usual my gauge was all over the place and it has loosened with washing but I like the current swishiness of air around the hem.
What i'm concerned about is the amount of dye that comes out each time it is washed.
There's a second finished object in the photo - my necklace, made in my lunch hour today with beads and a leather thong found in my desk drawer - far more interesting than the rest of the clutter in there and the files strewn around as I attempt to crack the quarterly stats once again!
A small group at Liberty's tonight but good to meet up with Nickerjac and Daisychains
Well I went back to work yesterday with the intention of easing myself back in gradually. 12 hours later I pleaded to be allowed to come home. Today has been in a similar vein - wonder what tomorrow will bring!
I enjoy taking part in exchanges so have signed up for a new one at laceswap
My fun with SP8 continues and our group mom has asked us to answer the following questions :-
1) What is your favorite season of the year?
Autumn - it's the prospect of being able to knit in comfort and wear my woollies
2) Where is your favorite vacation spot?
The Greek island of Rhodes, I love the south of the island - one of my most memorable holidays was spent in a converted 400 year old windmill near Katavia with no other property in sight
3) If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be?
Shetland
4) If you could pick any job, and be paid well, what would it be?
My current job but with a salary which reflects all of the multi=tasking I'm meant to do
5) If you were going on vacation for 1 week, and had to take ONLY one project with you, what would it be?
Wedding Ring Shawl using gossamer silk - that way I know I won't run out of knitting
6) If you won a shopping spree to your favorite Yarn shop, what would you get??
Probably silk and 2ply yarn, patterns and books, ebony and rosewood needles
Here's a photo of my completed throw for the Rowan Hearth and Home exchange.
I'm fairly pleased with it but remind me never to plan to knit a mohair throw in a UK Heatwave ever again. It has now been laundered and is on it's way to the post office.
It has a very long way to travel so I hope it doesn't get lost on route and that the recipient will enjoy it.
I'm swatching with yarns trying to decide on my next project, I still have the Diamond Fantasy shawl on the go so that rules out another shawl. I'm debating on the merits of Turbulence or Ogee from the Knitting nature book if I can find a suitable yarn
This is the final evidence of how ill I was feeling last weekend - the sum total of my purchases from the KCG !
There were some fantastic yarns, books and patterns I don't own, needles I need, vintage buttons begging to be used and this was all I could remember from my list.
The carefully prepared lists stored on my Palm were wiped out when i managed to press the reset button and my brain was mulch.....
In fact it still is mulch.
I've had no voice for 5 days, still cough and splutter, can't swallow more than liquids and can't face knitting. I have the patterns in front of me, the lace weight yarns, the current projects and I can't even raise the energy to knit a dishcloth.
So to my exchange partners - I'm sorry , I may miss the deadlines but will make good as soon as I find my mojo
A bit of a lost weekend for me thanks to a disgusting cough and splutter type cold which has since descended into respiratory problems. Despite this I managed to keep awake for some of the highlights.
The first was the viewing of parts of the KCG Collection. Liz had brought a cross sample of items and I decided that there was no way I could photograph them all in the time slot so went with my current obsessions - Hats and Cuffs
The stitch gauge for these hats was minute! I think they must have been knitted on fine wire! liz tried to explain the difference between Peruvian and Bolivian hats but I was already unable to concentrate on the spoken word!
This one was even finer than the one before!
I fell in love with these fine cuffs crocheted in the C19th, I really must find time to get some practice in with the fine threads
These two baby caps are beautiful - such a contrast to those worn today
I think these were silk wedding socks
The moles knitted by Wye Sue were a great hit, lots of requests for the pattern and they had to be security tagged for their own safety!
Mary had brought her stunning shawl knitted in natural shades - pity i couldn't get her to stand still long enogh to take a decent photo!
Saturday afternoon our speaker was Ruth Lee who had brought along an amazing collection of slides and articles for us to look at.
I took lots and lots of photos but only 2 made it out of the camera in tact. The first shows one of her fantastic spirit dresses knitted out of paper and wire
The second photo was the wonderful lace sleeves that she designed for Rowan using KidSilk Haze
woke up this morning full of cold, sore throat and aching joints - typical- how does my body know when I plan to be going off and enjoying myself?
I tried the Lotus Blossom on again and that neckline has to go, I feel far too exposed. I love the rest of the tank so think I will undo the neck and the seams and continue knitting the front for another couple of inches and then redo the seams and neckline. I did so want to take this away with me this weekend.
The packing is nearly complete - I just need to find a phone charger and the cables for my laptop. The University office were not very helpful about if I'd be able to get any internet access let alone WiFi but I live in hope.
Planned knitting is my gift for the Rowan Exchange, I've not been able to face knitting this with our heatwave so am well behind on completion date - it's meant to be in the post on Tuesday! Sorry partner, I think you will have a longer wait.
On the waiting front, the package I sent to my boss for her new baby has not arrived, even after 2 weeks! It only had to go 5 miles down the road and the post service won't start looking for it for another week.....nailbiting time.
Housework is not my favourite subject - but occasionally when I buckle down and do some, I find buried treasures! Today I moved some of the stuff behind the front door and found some post that had gone down behind a box...
So a belated thank you to my SP8 pal for the postcard from Malvern - I'm getting suspicious - do I know you? Will I be seeing you this weekend?
Thanks to Lesley for a copy of Yarn there's a few patterns in there that appeal.
The final piece of post in the hideaway was a cheque for some private work I had done so it looks as if i can make one or two small purchases this weekend at the KCG AGM - yippee!
Lotus Blossom is finished and being blocked - I'm a bit concerned about the amount of colour that is coming out and staining my towel deep orange. I'm also concerned about how much of my chest was on display when I tried it on!
Yvette -the new shawl pattern I am using is the Diamond Fantasy Shawl by Sivia Harding. The yarn is a joy to work with but the smell takes some getting used to!
Another hot and muggy London Sunday avoided by another run to the coast! We ended up in Dungeness again and took the time for a beach picnic and a potter around trying to photo the local plant life. I wonder how long it will take for these teasel heads to dry out and if anyone would mind me bringing one home with me?
I could fancy this as a holiday home - there might even be enough room to store the yarn! The property next door (much smaller) is for rent and I have been surfing to check out the details but it's way beyond out current budget, perhaps when I win the lottery....
Some of the local plant life, there are huge swathes of these growing across the shingle beach. The red poppies are still going strong but the gold ones appear to have nearly died out.
I love the colours in these pebbles, the variations keep me fascinated for hours - this is the largest shingle beach in the world and is constantly changing.
Matt had a good time exploring and I sat and knitted enjoying the sea breeze (and the spectacle of the fishermen and their muscles!). The knitting today was the start of a shawl using the Sea Silk - somehow it seemed appropriate and I wasn't in the mood for more stocking stitch. The yarn is wonderful and there will be photos soon!