COSMICKNITS

More of my handspun...

2009-02-10T12:43:00.007-07:00

Some of my recently spun yarns:

This one was a gorgeous batt from Copperpot Woolies, part of her "The Good Stuff" range:

Hand-dyed by me. Originally pencil roving and spun to a chunky single. Stupidly did not make a note of the fiber content, but I am pretty sure it was soy-silk:

Originally a batt from SplitRock Ranch, the batt was 3oz of 50% Wool Top, 20% Mohair, 20% Tencel, 10% Tussah Silk. Gorgeous!

"Eclipse" colorway, Romney fiber from Spunky's fiber of the month club. I had a double dose of 8 oz, spun both as chunky singles. Used 4 oz to make "Bag for Sophie" and still have 4oz in stash:

Another one of Spunky's fiber club offerings. This one is in colorway "Acadia", and is Finn. It became the "Herringbone Wrap."

In my defense, it has been a busy year!

2009-02-10T12:14:00.004-07:00

I knew I had completely neglected my blog, but had no idea it was a year since I had posted! And whew, what a year it has been! I stopped posting soon after moving from the UK to the USA. That was quite the adventure, and with pretty much starting anew here, working full time, and starting on my Masters degree, I have been very busy!

We are due to move house again at the end of the week (still staying in Arizona, just a different part of the city), but I plan to spend more time updating my blog. No more neglect!!

So let me start by posting my latest FO. I got a gorgeous batt from Butterfly Girl Designs. It was 3oz of 60% merino, 30% bamboo, 10% nylon firestar. Truly gorgeous, soft, and squooshy:

Which became:

It then became the Darkside Cowl:

It was actually made for me, but I have a ready and willing model in DS, so he is kindly demonstrating finished item. This was a fast and fun project. The firestar in the yarn makes it appear like it might be a bit rough or scratchy, but the merino and bamboo are actually super soft. Love it.

Brights Thick n thin spun

2008-02-18T10:28:00.004-07:00

I got this beautiful fiber from splitrockranch on etsy. It was a gorgeous 2oz batt of 80% wool and 20% bamboo. The colors are far more vibrant than they appear in these photos, with red, green, yellow, blue. It just reminded me of a circus, so bright and wild! I decided it needed to be spun thick & thin to keep that vibrant nature. It looks gorgeous spun, and the texture of the tick & thin works really well with the colors.

I also got another 2 batts, and joined her 3 month roving club so I receive 4oz of fiber from Brenda for 3 months. How exciting! I am thrilled with all of the fiber I have received, they are all truly works of art, just gorgeous. I highly suggest checking out Brenda's site splitrockranch on etsy. She obviously loves what she does, and to top it off, is a really nice person (which I think is always a bonus! I had a few questions when I bought the batts, and she responded immediately sorting everything out for me. Great customer service counts for a lot.

I will post some more pics of the other fibers later. I am currently spinning a gorgeous wool/bamboo/tencel batt from her. Maybe socks? Who knows!

Circling the wagons

2008-02-09T16:24:00.001-07:00

OK, so I have already explained the concept behind this yarn museum challenge here.

This is my entry to the challenge below:

It is 50% Corriedale, 50% Masham, 99yds approx with 7wpi.

The concept behind circling the wagons is protection. I therefore knew I wanted to heavily feature the color white, which is generally regarded as the most powerful and protective of colors, and that I wanted the yarn to be warm, soft and squishy. I am new to spinning, and only discovered Pluckyfluff and Holly's blogs this week after buying Pluckyfluff's new book "Intertwined". I was struck in Holly's blog by the beauty of her beach photos. It is obvious that the beach not only brings her inspiration in her work, but is also very special to her. In honor of this I dyed aqua ocean colors to ply with the white.

Have a look at all of the other BEAUTIFUL yarns in the challenge here. I was just so impressed by the colors and textures, just so beautiful. Actually, I have to admit that I saw some of them before I entered mine, and nearly didn't email the details off as I felt mine was so inferior to theirs. But then I remembered that we are doing this to raise some money, gave myself a slap and sent my email!

If you see one you particularly like, then please go and buy or bid here! Remember that all of the yarns are donated by the spinner. They were spun with love and the hope that we can raise some cash for Holly.

Party hat

2008-02-06T14:24:00.001-07:00

I used my handspun "80's party dress" superwash corriedale from spunky's December fiber club shipment to create this "party hat" for DS.

It seems to be warming up here in AZ now, so not sure if he will really wear it, and I don't think it will fit next year, but I just couldn't resist. It is so cute! He loves it, has been wearing it around the house all day.

The pattern is from Last Minute Knitted Gifts, and is "Kim's Hat's", the earflap version. My yarn is bulkier than that required, so I followed the Babies size of the pattern to come out with the measurements of a child size. I got the thing done in 1 night, it was a very fast knit!

Koolaid!

2008-02-03T21:54:00.000-07:00

I had a turn dying roving with Koolaid the other day. I dyed up some Masham and some Corriedale, using the tutorial here (it is very good!).

Anyway, this is what I ended up with:

The red in the first pic is slightly redder, and the second is more green and turquoise. Camera just won't take any pics with accurate color!

They smell pretty (fruity!) and overall I am happy. You can't get much easier than dying with Koolaid in the microwave! I will check which flavors I used, and update later. Just can't remember at the moment!

My pretty wheel...

2008-02-03T21:36:00.002-07:00

OK, so I finally got around to taking some pictures of my beautiful wheel that Santa brought:

I just LOVE it! It is the Ashford traveller, double treadle. We had our first "outing" yesterday. I went to the Arizona Desert Weavers & Spinners Guild (ADWSG), and took my wheel along. What a fantastic meeting! We had a talk by Bhakti Zeik who is a fantastically accomplished weaver. I do not weave myself, but her work was just so inspiring and beautiful, and so fascinating to listen to!

After the meeting I stayed behind for a little to spin. I started my January fiber from Spunky's fiber club. It is 4 oz of Icelandic wool in the colorway "Snow Squall". Wow, it is gorgeous! I carried on spinning when I got home, and as it was so beautiful, I sat in the garden. (I know we are in Arizona now, but still can't get over sunny weather in January!!) The fiber comes into it's own in the sunshine, when it appears magically metallic. Just so shiny and silvery, like some magic fiber from Hogwarts or something! Anyway I went from this:

to this:

I got it plied and skeined today while watching the Superbowl pre-game festivities (our 1st ever superbowl!), but didn't get any pictures yet.

After the inspiration from Intertwined (see last message), I went out and bought some goodies that I might want to add into my spinning. Yes, that is a ball of eyelash yarn you see, and no I haven't gone crazy! All will be revealed later. There is also pink & white wavy ribbon, and an assortment of beads. Can't wait to play!

Intertwined

2008-02-01T17:44:00.000-07:00

I went to Borders yesterday. As always I checked out the knitting books, even though I already have any that interest me. Yesterday was an exception however. There were a couple of new books that caught my eye, but this one in particular I simply could not put down. It was actually so irresistible that although I had a 40% off coupon at home and the store is only down the road, I could not possibly wait. I had to buy it there and then!It is called Intertwined, and is by Lexi Boeger, aka pluckyfluff. What a fantastic book! Essentially it discusses methods and includes some patterns for spinning and then knitting/crocheting with "art yarns". It is more than a "here is a pattern, go follow it and create this item" book though. It is a real source of inspiration, and honestly has made me look at spinning in a whole new way (although I got the book yesterday, I read the whole thing as soon as I got in last night. I could not put it down!). It is not a read it once and you're done book either. The book itself is so beautiful, just looking through at the pictures is inspiring!

I went onto pluckyfluff's site for the first time this morning, and read about a challenge that is running until next week see here. The challenge has been organised in the theme of "circling the wagons", as all yarns entered are being donated by their creator to be auctioned off. The money raised will go to Holly of hollyeqq.com, who has some medical issues to deal with at the moment, and I gather could really do with the extra cash. Again, I only discovered Holly's site this morning, but I am definitely going to contribute. Every little skein helps, right. Which is why everyone should try to contribute something. Details of the challenge are on the yarn museum website here. All entries have to be in by Sat Feb 9th.

Let RSC 2008 commence...

2008-01-26T15:44:00.000-07:00

and wowee, Tina has truly done it again!

Honestly, I was aware that the first package of the 2008 Rockin Sock Club would be sent out in January, but I have been so busy spinning (with a few knitting projects on the side :) ) that I just haven't even been thinking about when it would get here. So I was surprised to find it in my mailbox just now!

It is truly truly scrumptiously gorgeous! Colorway is "dragon dance" (printed on the inside of the ballband is my dragon's name: Norbert!!! I love it!!!!) The colors are red and burgundy and pink:

I know I say it with every RSC package, but "this may be my absolute favourite color!!!"

The pattern is "Serendipity" by Adrian Fong :The intro to the pattern reads:
Take a simple lace stitch,
and a handpainted yarn
Sometimes, magic happens.
It's "Serendipity!"

We also got our usual mini-keychain skein of yarn. We also got 2 fantabulous badges (if you're English like me) or buttons (if you're American).

The pic below shows the badges again with a bumper sticker we received:

I should really finish some projects before starting this one, but I just can't wait!!! I shall be casting these babies on immediately!

Sorry for the lengthy absence...

2008-01-26T15:27:00.000-07:00

I have just been so busy! The biggy news, I got a beeeoootifoool spinning wheel from Santa! It is an Ashford Traveller with double treadle, and I just love it! Haven't gotten around to taking a pic of it yet, but will do so soon and get it uploaded.

I have spun up a few skeins of yarn now, and overall am very happy with them! These pictures are of Romney in colorway "goblin eyes", the october fiber from the spunky fiber club. I am so in love with spunky's fibers. I love that every month we get not only a radically different color to previous months, but the fiber is different too! Having the opportunity to try new fibers and new colors is just so important with spinning, as I have quickly learned that the finished yarn often bears little resemblance to the roving! This is a picture of the roving:

Single on the bobbin:

2ply skeined:

December's colorway was a very bright "party dress", fiber is Corriedale.
I basically got two skeins from the roving. The first is red plied with green:

The second is green plied with turqoise:

I don't think there is a spinner on the planet who doesn't buy from Spunky, but just in case you happen to be one!! check out her website here. She truly created works of art in her fiber, the colors are always just beautiful. She also has a blog here which I have found so useful as a new spinner. There are a few tutorials as well as some free patterns etc.

RSC Raven

2007-11-19T11:30:00.001-07:00

So Octobers kit arrived from Rockin Sock Club (a few weeks ago actually, but I have been busy and haven't found time to post...) It is from the Raven series, and is a beautiful deep burgundy color. The pattern that came with it is inspired by the Edgar Allen Poe poem "The Raven". Although I love the pattern, I don't think I will use it with this yarn. We will have to see...

Funny story about when it arrived. As you may (or may not) know, we have recently moved to Arizona from North East England. In England about the worst insect you can find is a garden bumble bee. Nothing scary at all. In Arizona however... between rattlesnakes, black widow spiders, scorpions, tarantulas and a host of other nasties, it is a different story. To say I am jumpy about insects is an understatement. Can you imagine my reaction then when I opened this months kit to find 3 HUGE spiders in there. I kid you not, I froze with fear and could not BREATHE for all of 5 seconds, I THOUGHT THEY WERE REAL! Afterwards thought it was hilarious, but for that space of time (which felt a whole lot longer than 5 seconds) I seriously couldn't breathe! It was a little gifty from the Blue Moon ladies in celebration of Halloween (kit arrived a week or so before Halloween).

On another note, I have finished one, and am past the heel on the other Summer of Love Lace sock in Rockin Sock yarn, Nodding Violet colorway. I haven't grafted the toe on this one yet. I am pleased with how they are turning out. The color pools on the lace cuff, then feathers beautifully around the foot. They will be a gift, need to hurry and get them finished in time to post for xmas. Should make it OK (although knitting time is severely reduced lately by pesky situations life throws at you, as well as time spent on spinning, my new found passion!

Aspen spun...

2007-11-19T11:15:00.001-07:00

I recently spun up my September fiber from Spunky Eclectic club. It is a beautiful Merino Tencel fiber in "Aspen" colorway. I spun it on my new drop spindle, and had so much fun with it! It was just gorgeous to work with, and the colours are amazing! The tencel gives it the most beautiful shine! This isn't the greatest picture to show off the colors, but here it is as a single:

As I don't own a wheel yet, my only option for plying is using my drop spindle. I really would have liked to ply it with itself, but I decided I wouldn't have enough yards, and as I was using the spindle it would be a lot easier to ply with another yarn. I therefore decided to ply it with some Rowan 100% Alpaca that I already had. The alpaca is the larger ball underneath the Aspen:

I have already plied and used the yarn to make a cowl, which I LOVE! Not sure how much use I will have for a cowl in Arizona though :) I haven't taken pics yet. I will take some soon and get them uploaded. Things are pretty hectic still (hence I haven't really posted since before we moved!) but hopefully we will start getting more settled soon...

I also recently received Octobers fiber from Spunky:

It is called "Goblin Eyes" and is Romney. The purple is less blue and more deep purple than it appears in the picture, but other than that the colors are pretty true. Haven't started spinning this one up yet, but the pictures from others on the Spunky club site look gorgeous!

New Drop Spindle

2007-10-26T10:49:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we visited Kathy from Unique Designs by Kathy at her shop in Tucson, Arizona. What a fabulous time I had! The shop is adjacent to her home, which meant that she was able to show us around introducing her animals, whose fibre she sells in her shop both as handspun yarn and roving. We met her llamas, sheep and goats, who all seemed so happy and content there. It was great to be able to "put a face" (so to speak!) to the fiber in the shop.

She then showed me her work in the shop. There were beautiful wet felted pieces in the form of bowls, hats, bags and landscapes to hang on the wall (check out her website here for some pictures of what she sells), as well as knitted items, and of course the yarn and roving. Kathy is just so friendly and helpful, I am a new spinner and I learned so much from her in our short trip yesterday! She also sells a line of handspun yarns that she calls "hidden treasures" Wow! (see pictures on her blog here, although they don't do the yarn justice! Has nothing to do with Kathy's photos, you just can't capture in a picture the textures, colors and beauty of these yarns). There is a mix of fibers in there for a textured effect, including ribbons, and then periodically there are beads, buttons, feathers etc. Truly wonderful works of art. I felt so inspired being around her store and seeing her work.

I bought a GORGEOUS new drop spindle from her. It was made by a gentleman from Kundert Spindles, and I am just ecstatic over it! It is Maple, with accents of Red cedar, Maple and Bloodwood on the whorl. It is truly a beautiful piece of art, and was hand turned to create such a well balanced spindle. The one I was previously using was a homemade DIY job, which worked well, but oh my gosh! After using this new spindle last night, I could never use anything else again! The quality of what I was spinning increased ten-fold and it was such a pleasure to use! I feel like a real spinner now!

I also bought roving from Kathy. The brown and black in it is from her llama, then I think she said the colored fiber was Shetland. It also has some angel tinsel through it. I started spinning it last night, and am really pleased with how it is turning out. It looks silvery grey, with flecks of the tinsel shimmer, then tweedy bits of orange and white.

What a cutie model demonstrating my new spindle:

As a note, if you happen to be around Tucson, Arizona on Saturday 3rd November, Kathy has organized the "Tucson Wool Festival 2007" to be held on her property.

Rockin Sock yarn shipment

2007-10-24T15:54:00.001-07:00

Upon arriving in Arizona, one of the immediate benefits was that I had a shipment from the lovely Blue Moon ladies waiting for me... some of my favorite yarn! I just LOVE Rockin' sock yarn! There are others that I really like a lot, but I think this is my favorite for socks. It has such a lovely smoosh and spring to it, and the colors are always so fabulous!

I got (in order from top to bottom):
Sugarplums in Mediumweight
Mesa in Mediumweight (seeing as I now live 'round the corner from Mesa!)
Nodding Violet in Lightweight
Philosopher's Stone in Lightweight (possibly my fave colorway of them all!)

I also got a skein of "Downpour" in lightweight, which are nearly a pair of Cedar Creeks.

They are a little big for me as they will be a xmas pressie for my hubby (hence just a plain cast on edge instead of the pretty picot edge in the pattern). I am really pleased with how they are turning out. They are fun to knit, and I got into the pattern straight away, didn't take long to be able to knit them without referring to chart.

Apologies...

2007-10-24T12:49:00.000-07:00

OK so first of all apologies that I seemed to have fallen off the face of the planet! In actual fact we made the move from UK to Arizona on 27th Sept, and it has taken me a while to get sorted out and find the time to take pictures etc! I have had very little time to knit or do anything that could be classed as "me time" (inevitable I think with so much going on), but I do have a few things to show you...

Firstly I have started spinning my BFL in "Embers" colorway from Yarn Yard. *Remember I am a new spinner!!* Because I am a newbie it is slubby, but I am really pleased with the results, and the colors are gorgeous! I am not sure what the wpi are yet.

I also received my first package from spunky fiber club, and it is just so gorgeous! Just truly, beautiful, and so shiny! It is 2 ounces of Superwash Merino Tencel in "Aspen" colourway, apparently inspired by "the Yellow Aspens, the big teal blue sky and the large mountains [with] snow caps". Can't wait for my new kit to arrive!

Ravelry

2007-09-30T19:28:00.000-07:00

Hurrah! Just logged into my email and unexpectedly had received my invitation to join Ravelry! I had checked recently and there were still loads of people ahead of me in the queue waiting to join, so I thought it would be a good while yet before they got around to inviting me, but I guess they have just had a spurt of invitations sent out. Anyway, I am listed as cosmicknits on there if anyone wants to look me up, although at the moment I haven't updated anything. Not sure how long it will take me. We made the "big move" on Thursday, so are currently on day 3 of our new life, and are all really jetlagged. Everything is getting put on the back burner for a while as we have so much to sort out, and I am permanently exhausted! Darned jetlag!

My first package from Spunky Electric arrived today (which did manage to perk me up somewhat!). Wowee it is beautiful! My camera is broken so no pics at the mo' I am afraid, but hopefully I will get a new one within a few days and will post more info with pics then. As a teaser, the colourway is "Aspen"...

Spunky Club

2007-09-18T09:19:00.000-07:00

I have just joined the Spunky Fibre club which I am very excited about! Every month we get a gorgeous smooshy package through the post of beautiful hand painted fiber. I know I am a newbie spinner, and in the back of my mind I am wondering if maybe it is a little premature or excessive, but then I think, if I'm gonna spin, it might as well be with beautiful fiber! Looking at the club blog and seeing the work of other club members was what clinched the deal for me. Some of those skeins are just gorgeous! The colours and fibers seem to be different each month, so there is the added benefit that you really get to try new and different types of fiber that you wouldn't necessarily have chosen yourself. Joy joy joy! Is it sad to get so excited over fibre???

Being the sucker that I am for clubs, I have also just joined the Holiday KAL/CAL. Basically from 22nd September we can count every holiday project that we get finished by 31st December. I think with us moving next week, and all of the current and future upheaval that is inevitable, I need all the help I can get to work through that ever-growing list of projects I want to get done for Christmas!

The problem with late night knitting!

2007-09-17T06:47:00.000-07:00

I have a 2 year old son, which means that my knitting time is limited to evenings once he is in bed. Which is fine, except that when I am tired, I am not fully concentrating. I finished the Baby Sweater a week ago, but as soon as I was done I realised I had made a boo-boo. The project doesn't have any seams, so the sleeves are knit as a rectangle, then stitches are picked up and bound off using the 3-needle bind-off method. Due to my being tired and obviously not at all with it, I bound the sleeves off differently (One WS facing, the other RS facing)! So now I need to unpick one sleeve and redo the bind off. Shouldn't take too long, but haven't had the inclination to do it yet!

In the meantime I moved on to the booties. I designed some to match the jacket, and am quite pleased (one done, one to go). Will post pics of the finished objects soon. I am also going to do a matching hat. The whole project has been a fun knit, would definitely do it again.

Have been pretty busy this week with the impending move (10 days and counting!), and on top of that "little guy" and myself have been unwell. So I am still busy on the heel of sock 1 of my Summer of Lace socks. Think it will be like this for the next few weeks, but I am trying to snatch any knitting time I can get!

The perfect socks for me!

2007-09-14T13:49:00.001-07:00

I was looking around some knitting sites and blogs tonight (as I frequently do!) when I came across p2 designs, which has some of the most fantastic sock patterns I have seen! There is a pair in particular which I simply have to make, seeing as they combine my 2 favourite things; sock knitting and coffee!:

If you are into socks, and particularly ones that are totally unique (certainly from most that I have ever seen!), then you need to check out the patterns for sale here. They also have a pair of cute gingerbread men socks which I would love to make for my little man. Think he might have to wait till next year however, even with my history of totally unrealistic targets, I know there is no chance of me getting them done for Christmas!

Embers roving

2007-09-13T14:09:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in a previous post, I am a total newbie to spinning. I have so far only spun some of the Shetland roving which I bought to practice on. I recently received an email from Natalie at the Yarn Yard saying that she was updating stock. I decided to treat myself to some pretty roving, and fell in love with some BFL in the "embers" colourway:

It is my first purchase from the Yarn Yard, and I am over the moon. She is based in Scotland, and does some beautiful work. I was at a Stitch N'Bitch last night, and there was a lady there knitting socks from Yarn Yard yarn. She is a member of their sock club, and it was the latest colourway in pinks and yellows. Really nice.

Will try to get some spun up and a picture posted. Am a bit nervous that I am gonna make a big mess of it seeing as I am such a novice, but at the same time can't wait to get on making some pretty yarn!

Choccie Gorilla

2007-09-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen the new Cadbury's chocolate advert, check it out. Love it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKdQC-hbY7k

Spinning

2007-09-06T12:39:00.000-07:00

I am a total newbie to spinning. I was interested in it for about a week when I had DH make me a spindle (actually, I had him make me 2, one top and one bottom whorl spindle; see link here for directions on a DIY spindle). Still, that is really good for me. I usually decide I am into something, and have to get all the gear straight away!

The spindle is basically a length of wooden dowel, with a wooden toy car wheel as the weight (bought from local hobby craft store), then a small cup hook in the top. For the 2 spindles it cost a total of £1.60. Even DH can't complain at that!

Best thing, they seem to work great. I don't have the experience to compare them to any other spindles, but they seem to do the job great. In the image below, the yarn on the right was some I spun a few weeks ago. I haven't picked it up since then, but you can see the yarn on the spindle (which I spun last night) is a lot thinner, which is what I had wanted. I was really pleased with the result.

The fibre is Shetland fleece, in a fawn colour, which I bought while at Woolfest back in June. I bought it as a practice fibre, as it was washed and carded, and only cost £5 for 250g. 250g was a huge bag! I thought it seemed cheap, although as I am a newbie I have no idea what the going rates are for fibre yet!

I also bought a bag of beautiful Alpaca fibre in a gorgeous golden colour. I haven't taken any pictures of that yet, but will do soon and post them. I did however get a picture of the cutie alpaca who generously donated the fleece:

I bought the fleece at Woolfest, from a stallholder representing the Alpaca Centre. I looked it up after we got home, and we went for a visit. It was a great, we saw the alpacas and had a lovely coffee and scones in the tearoom. They also have a shop selling alpaca fibre clothing etc. If you are into fibre and around Penrith, England at all, I would recommend stopping by. Plus they were all lovely friendly people! And how cute is this alpaca!!!!!!

Summer of Love Lace cuff

2007-09-04T03:12:00.000-07:00

I have just finished the first cuff on the RSC "Summer of Love Lace" sock. I was working on it a few nights ago when I dropped a stitch. I was tired, in a slightly bad mood, and when I didn't find the dropped stitch within 30 seconds, I ripped it all out. Slightly dramatic, but at least I wasn't far into it. Anyway, here is the first cuff:

I am really excited about these socks, pictures just can't do them justice. I think they will be beautiful! I am looking forward to getting them finished and being able to wear them!

I am also working on the Baby Sweater, which I am thrilled with. It has a beautiful honeycomb stitch pattern which is simple, but really effective. It is such an easy and fast knit, but looks great! I also love that it has no seams to rub or irritate baby. I will post pics later, as I don't want the recipient to see it until after the baby is here, and they receive it as a gift. Not long now though...

Flower Power!

2007-08-29T08:57:00.000-07:00

It is finally here! My August kit from Rockin Sock Club! It is called "Flower Power", and is a lightweight 100% Superwash Merino. The colours are really vibrant, with fuschia, turquoise, brown and greys. Beautiful. See the mini-skein in the middle? That is a super-cute keyring skein we get with each kit.

My camera doesn't do the colours justice- they are actually far more vibrant, and really complement each other. This kit is a celebration of the 40th anniversary of 1967 - the "Summer of Love". Flower Power does it justice!

See the cute treat we got in this months kit: tattoos! A flower power chain and a moon:

The pattern is called "Summer of Love Lace", and is by the very talented JC Briar. It has a lace cuff, and is very feminine. I love that each pattern from RSC is so different from the others. You really get to try new techniques and looks, which for me is the whole point in a club. It does mean not every pattern or colour-scheme will necessarily ring your bell, but I love the surprise!

The pair at front left is knit in Flower Power.

So hopefully I will get the skein wound into a ball tonight, and maybe even get to cast on! *fingers crossed*

Started winding Pretty Pirate

2007-08-26T07:56:00.000-07:00

I started winding my skein of Pretty Pirate, from Yarn Pirate last night, when I realised I hadn't taken any pics yet. I just LOVE Yarn Pirate yarns. She just has a real eye for colour, and I think every skein is a true work of art. In the pic below you can see (left to right) "Cannon Beach", "Pretty Pirate", and "Patience".

I think they will all be socks, but we will have to see...

One day, I will own a ball winder...

2007-08-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

So I am currently winding my skein of lace weight cashmere from Hipknits Project Club into a ball... by hand. Please remember, I have never knitted lace before, so have never had the need to wind lace weight yarn. OMG what a Nightmare. I am not the most patient of people, particularly with pesky tasks like winding yarn into balls, knitting swatches etc, I just want to get on with the casting on and joyful knitting of the project already! I spent about 3 hours winding the night before last, and am not even half way through yet! Granted, I was a little distracted by the fabulous Grey's Anatomy which I was catching up on, but I reckon I have another couple of nights winding left yet. I also managed to snap the yarn at one point, when it got into a knot (the kind where there is a small loop with a tight knot). Because it is lace weight, I just could not loosen the knot at all, and the yarn snapped with my attempts. Oh well, will just mean I need to weave in an end.

I also cheated a little today, and looked at the spoilers on other people's blogs for the new Rockin Sock Club kit. It is GORGEOUS! I will SO post pics when mine finally arrives, but just fabulous! How do you do it Blue Moon ladies? Another great pattern and totally drooly skein of yarn! Yippee! Should be here soon... *fingers crossed*

Finished Solstice Slip, just in time!

2007-08-22T01:02:00.001-07:00

So with August's Rockin Sock Club kit on its way, I have finished the last kit, Solstice Slip, just in time! I really enjoyed knitting these, the pattern was an easy 4-row repeat, and was just a relaxing and almost therapeutic knit. Funny thing though, on both socks I loved knitting up until the leg (they were knit toe up), then got really bored on the leg, and it took me ages to finish, for both socks! But now they are done, I just love them! The toe and heel are both garter stitch, and look great.

Little dumpling loves them too:

I am currently waiting for kit 4 to arrive. Our first kit was "Inside Out" sock, as the cables on this sock make it reversible, with a different look on each side. You can wear them however you prefer! I love that. Funny thing though, one did this great striping, the other one pooled. My husband thinks it looks weird (he is really one for symmetry and traditional looks), whereas I love it. It really adds to the hand knit feel of the socks. These were knit in medium weight yarn, which makes them a little too heavy to wear in shoes, but are actually my most favourite to wear, really comfy and warm. Oh how I love Rockin Sock yarn!!

The second kit was a beautiful skein of Silkie yarn, absolutely gorgeous! This isn't the pattern that we got with the kit. I loved the look of it, but when I started, I got about 2 inches after the toe (again, toe-up socks), and realised that they just weren't for me. I used the heel from that pattern though, and made up the rest. I am quite pleased with them, and would definitely use Silkie from BMFA again.

Finally, get to "Eat my Greens"!

2007-08-21T03:38:00.001-07:00

Yippee, my beautiful yarn from Hipknits Project Club has arrived! It is kit one, and is a gorgeous skein of Cashmere, in "Eat Your Greens" Colourway. The great thing about the club is that we get to choose the colour yarn we want for each project.

It will be a lace shawl, which from other pics I have seen looks gorgeous. I have only done a small amount of lace in socks before, so am virtually brand new to it, and will admit to being a little intimidated, but excited to get started.

This yarn has been a long time coming, the original one went missing in the post! So Kerrie from Hipknits kindly put another skein in the post for me *phew*.

I think they are also putting the kits up for sale on the Hipknits site, shortly after each kit is sent to members. So if anyone is interested in buying a kit for themselves, it should be available soon.

My 2 year old seems to like it as well. Here he is having a squish of it:

Lego made Knitting Machine

2007-08-19T02:44:00.001-07:00

Just found this great video on youtube, it is a knitting machine made completely of Lego! Fascinating to watch, quite the creation! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV19wqtfyF0 Made by Thomas Johnson, he has videos of other Lego creations on there too.

2007-08-17T07:37:00.002-07:00

Thought I would share a photo of my beautiful boy wearing his recently cast-off Toddler Star Sweater from Adorable Knits for Tiny Tots, by Zoe Mellor. He looks adorable in it, the colours are beautiful (yarn is Rowan Cotton Glace) and the best bit... he seems to love it. Even at 2, the boy has standards and if he says no to something, he MEANS IT!

Darned Royal Mail!

2007-08-17T01:22:00.001-07:00

I have been waiting excitedly for my first Hipknits project club kit to arrive all month, drooling over the photos published by other members of their yarn. I thought it seemed to be taking a while, so decided to email Kerrie at Hipknits, who confirmed it should be here by now. Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! It appears to have gone missing in the post! But, no need to despair...the extremely lovely and helpful Kerrie has said she will put another skein in the post for me. Phew! So hopefully should be here in a few days, fingers crossed. Is it just my bad luck, or do Royal Mail seem to be just APPALLING at the moment? Lately I seem to be having nothing but late and missing deliveries!

On another note, I cast on the "Judy's Grandmother's Baby Sweater" from "Greetings from Knit Cafe" last night, using Sublime Extra Fine Merino Wool. I am LOVING it, I think it will be just gorgeous. After my Ms. Marigold mistake, I was quite meticulous with this swatch!

Another one hits the frog pond...

2007-08-16T05:39:00.000-07:00

So, after getting not quite halfway on my Ms. Marigold vest, I thought it was maybe looking a bit small. So I decided to check my tension. Despite knitting a swatch, I had a whole extra stitch per inch then needed! So my vest was going to be tight fitting, probably corset like in a restricted breathing kind of way. Sigh. So I ripped the whole thing out. Isn't that just the most crushing thing...to look at something that you have been working on for a while, and then RIPPPPPPPP.

As I say, I had knitted a swatch, however it was late at night, and my fingers were just itching to get cast-on, so I guess it is my own fault for being too eager. I substituted yarn to Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo, which is knitting up really nice, and very affordable! Is 80% Bamboo, 20% Wool mix, and cost me £2.15 per 50g ball, which I think is a snip. It is my first time knitting with bamboo, and I am happy with the look. I would definitely use it again. I was also thinking although it has 20% wool, it might be nice and cool for desert-wear in Phoenix. I am starting to think more of vests, cotton sweaters etc, and not so much wool sweaters, scarves and mittens. Not much call for them in the desert!

I am not going to immediately cast Ms. Marigold back on, am still a bit gutted to be honest... Plus I should soon receive Augusts Rockin Sock Club kit, as well as the first kit from Hipknits Project Club, which is a really pretty shawl. We get to pick our own colours for Hipknits, and the lovely Kerrie then dyes them before shipping with the pattern. For this one I chose colourway "Eat your Greens". Can't wait to see it. If only the postman could hurry it along...

Cool Knitted Tagging

2007-08-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

I have heard of knitted tagging before, which I thinks is just great! How wonderful for parking meters, car ariels, shop door handles etc to be covered in colourful stripes of knitted art! Check out this great texas based group, called Knitta. I love their personal intros at the end of the video too! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSjHvbewS1I

Iced Tea

2007-08-10T07:58:00.000-07:00

Just received my new Emily yarn, a 80% Lambswool, 10% Cashmere, 10% Angora mix in "Iced Tea" colourway from Posh Yarn. Should make a beautiful pair of socks!

Skein doesn't do the colours any justice. When it arrived I must admit to being slightly disappointed, but once I wound it into a ball, I was in love! Beautiful shades of green, pink and pale brown. Was going to use it to make DH a pair of socks, but think it may have a touch too much pink in. Oh well, another pair for little old me then!