From Blog photos

I’ve got more knitting books! Looks like I really should just go to IKEA and buy that bookcase I keep talking about. My knitting book pile just keeps on growing.

Anyway!

Heirloom Knitting by Sharon Miller came in the mail yesterday. Now, while I most likely won’t be knitting any of the patterns in here, I absolutely love all of the stitch patterns in it (the Shetland Bead in particular). That’s why I bought it. So many ideas just bouncing around in my head waiting to be put into patterns of my own. It’s inspiration.

The other book, Modern Knits Vintage Style, was a birthday gift. Shaun pointed out the pattern that made him decide that this book was right for me and I agreed with him. It was the Branching Out pattern, by Susan Pierce Lawrence. I’ve actually already knit this a few years ago when the pattern was released in Knitty. Shaun knows my style well. As for the other patterns in the book, there are quite a few that I’d consider knitting, with slight modifications. For instance the first pattern in the book, Cherry Short-Sleeve Cardigan, is almost perfect as it is. I’d just lose the belt in the middle. Belts just aren’t my thing. The Jacqueline Bouvier Stole looks interesting; I’m intrigued by the Very 1940s Snood; and I haven’t quite made up my mind whether I’d want to knit the Charming Shoulderette as written (in garter stitch) or change it up a bit and knit it in stockinette. So many options. And that’s the great thing about knitting, you can make any pattern to suit your tastes.

In other knitting news, my Dr Seuss Shawl (Omelet from Knitty) is beginning to drive me a bit batty. The rows are just so freakin’ long now. Over 300 sts per row. It’ll be at about 400 sts by the time I need to bind off. Still, only have 13 and a half rows to go (yes, I stopped in the middle of a row, but I’m sure I’ll figure out where in the pattern I was).

My Twisted Flower socks are my mindless knitting. Yes, really. And they’re so happy. The colour is wonderful. The yarn that I’m using is Happy Soles in “I can’t believe it’s not…” from Stitches N Rows on Etsy. And because I’ve fallen in love with that base, I just ordered two more skeins from them last night.

One more thing, before I go back to knitting Omelet and watching Babylon 5: There is a KAL (knit-along) for Bashful Butterflies! So far, I’ve met a ton of new knitters that I just otherwise wouldn’t have met, which is really cool. If you head on over to Google+, contact Jo Price to sign up (since Yana Weinstein is on holiday right now) she’ll let you know the coupon code for 40% off of Bashful Butterflies. Cast on is August 16th, 2011. I’ll try to be around as much as I can, answering questions and just cheering people on.

Last week, I turned 26. On the same day, I decided to release Bashful Butterflies, a small summer scarf or medium shawlette, depending on yarn choice and gauge. The 4ply version uses under 100g and the DK version uses under 200g. You can get it either through Ravelry or The Unique Sheep’ website. I got my wonderful youngest sister to model for me while I was in Finland. Whenever people who know me have seen pictures of her, their reaction has been along the same lines as Mike’s yesterday: “She’s got your face!” And of course, my three test knitters (Sadie, Amy and Sharon) have been fabulous, like they always are. And the pattern is currently being tested by a fourth for exact Gradiance instructions, so once those are up, I’ll let everyone know about the updated version.

In other knitting news, the Lissajous are done. It’s a bit weird not having any socks otn right now, but that’ll be remedied tomorrow when I’ll be casting on a pair of Twisted Flowers in a happy yellow. In the meantime, I’ve been working on my Dr Seuss Shawl (aka Green Egg Omelet). The pattern, Omelet, has so many charts! I completed Chart B and C today, and am two rows into Chart D (20 rows total). Still got Chart E (34 rows) to go! The rows are getting really long now. But I just keep thinking how pretty the finished product will be and keep going. And thanks to Nina, it’s been so easy to keep track of where I am in the pattern. She recommended the StitchMinder app and it’s great.

Speaking of apps, I’ve also started using RunKeeper when I go on my runs. I didn’t realize how far I was actually going on my daily runs. Last Sunday, I decided to go for a hike instead of a run. But because I lost GPS, the app now thinks it took me an hour to do a mile when I really did four miles (a lot of it uphill!). Ah well.

Yesterday, I went to the Vintage Fair with Nina and Lucy. I didn’t find any clothing that I wanted to buy, but I did get a pretty rose necklace and some rose hair pins. Then we went shopping on Fargate. It really annoys me that there isn’t a standardized size. So what’s one size in New Look is actually in between sizes in Dorothy Perkins. Makes shopping for clothes very difficult. But I did find a pair of trousers to wear to work, two shirts and a pair of leggings. The next time we go to Meadowhall I’ll try both New Look and Dorothy Perkins again since their shops are bigger there.

… for those who want to buy me presents. Last weekend I went to Finland and saw Moomin mugs in the shops. I decided to start collecting them. As of right now, I own two. The one pictured which I bought last weekend and one that’s somewhere in storage at my mom’s. I can’t even remember which one it is. I think it’s blue? I got it years ago from my uncle. So! If you’re wanting to buy me a present but have no idea what to get me? A Moomin mug would certainly be appreciated. Or then there’s always my Amazon wishlist. Or various knitting related items that I’ve got my eye on.

Why am I mentioning this now? Because it’s my birthday next Friday. And I like getting gifts, even if it is just a bar of chocolate or something. Just the fact that someone remembered is the main thing. But if anyone’s inclined to buy me something bigger than a chocolate bar… ;)

So yes, I went to Finland last weekend. I was over there for four days. Renewed my passport, bought the mug, my youngest sister got confirmed, met up with a Belgian friend who I hadn’t seen for almost three years, went swimming. Good times were had. What I did forget about were the mosquitoes. And how tasty I am to them. I came home with seven really itchy bites. But still glad I went. Oh and I found some yarn on sale while I was there! Normal price was 2,95€/ball, but they were selling it 3 balls for 5€. So naturally I bought 6 balls. I gots me a sweater for 10€. :D

Knitting wise, the Lissajous are still on the needles. I’ve decided to keep them as just lunch hour knitting since I don’t have anything else that’s easily portable to work on. The last few days I’ve been trying to decide what my next project will be and that’s proven to be difficult. Last night I was thinking about sweaters. Today I was looking at lace shawls. I think I’ve chosen my yarn and pattern, but I’m not going to say what it is until I’ve actually cast on.

I’ve also started spinning with my new drop spindle. It’s a real challenge for me to spin thicker yarn that’s consistent now. I’ve gotten pretty good at getting really thin yarn on my old drop spindle, but thicker? I have to concentrate on that. But at least it’s going pretty quickly. Already over halfway through the 100g I’ve got (using SW English Wool Blend from Wildcraft Fibres in the Pudding colorway).

So while I’ve been thinking about my next project, I’ve been making more squares. I have a feeling this blanket’ll take at least another year, maybe two, to complete. But that’s okay, since it is for me, so there is no deadline for it. It’ll be ugliest thing ever (I’ve dubbed it FrankenBlanket), but at the same time, I’m pretty sure I’ll love it.

So, last Saturday, I went to Woolfest with Nina and Lucy. Had a fabulous time. I was amazingly restrained in my purchasing. I think partly because most places only accepted cash or cheque, neither of which I had. We did take the free shuttle to Cockermouth from the fairground to get lunch and some cash, but I don’t like carrying a lot of cash on me, so I made sure to stick to a tight budget. Nina and Lucy on the other hand? Let’s just say that I’ve got stash envy. ;) I discovered quite a few dyers that I hadn’t heard of before. All three that are pictured are completely new to me. I had such a hard time picking a color in Wild Fire Fibres’ stall. I eventually settled on Cornflower (Tempo base) and I’ve already cast on with it (Lissajous by Cookie A). The drive there and back was nice and easy. Although on the way there we discovered that the CD player wouldn’t eject the CD. And since there weren’t that many radio stations that didn’t sound static-y, we listened to that one CD over and over again. And then some more. Other than that, it was a fabulous day. I definitely want to go again.

Which leads me today. Ryan is up from London so he and O decided to replace the stereo-radio system in the car. We went to Halfords, picked out a new one, then I left the two of them to it. They called in back-up after a few hours: O’s dad (he’s a mechanic). After four hours, it was all sorted out. I don’t have steering wheel controls any more, but now I can answer my phone if it rings while I drive, so it all evens out.

Last Sunday we went to a dance competition in Stockport. Ian & I placed 6th in both Beginner’s Ballroom (Waltz & Quickstep) and Beginner’s Latin (Cha & Jive). Even though I was still feeling pretty ill (the coughing fits after each round of dancing), just being able to dance again was worth it. If you really want to see me dance, I’ve uploaded a video of the waltz.

I’ve also been kinda promoted. I’ve moved to a new team within Accounts. My very first job was being a cashier at a supermarket, now I’m a Legal Cashier. Funny how that works. This was decided on Monday, started training on Tuesday. Which meant that we played musical desks again. I now sit where WorkJane used to sit. WorkJane sits at Lesley’s desk and Lesley moved to a completely different table in Purchase Ledger. And WorkJane doesn’t know about the move yet. She’ll be in for a surprise on Monday when she comes in from her holiday. Fun times. So far, I really like my new job. It’s scary since I am dealing with massive amounts of money and actually dealing with banks instead of just inputting the information into the accounting system. But it’s new and fun. It’s a nice change from what I used to do. And I really like most of the people in that team.

Let’s see, what else… I’ve finally finished spinning the Tea & Roses shipment. It was all done before Woolfest, which meant that I could purchase a new spindle. I’ve got 601 yds/98g of pretty laceweight to play with now. I mentioned that I’ve cast on the Lissajous. Oh! Bashful Butterflies update: only need to measure the small version’s dimensions, add photos to the pattern (which I’ll be taking this weekend when I can use my sisters as models), and then it’s done. My three testers have been fabulous and I hope they’ll volunteer to test for me again. They’ve caught my autocorrect errors, helped me re-phrase things in a clearer way, basically just been wonderful.

This is a London baby. Our nephew to be exact. Isn’t he adorable? Really well behaved too (most of the time). A bit mischievous, but that’s why babies are so fun. They keep you on your toes.

So we went down to London on Thursday and came back today. Stayed over at O’s sister’s. Never have I been so glad to come home again. Sleeping on an air mattress is not fun. Especially when you need to share it with someone else. Every time O moved, I moved. Plus, since we were sleeping in the living room, we had to get up when the baby got up (which was around 7am every day).

We did do quite a few awesome things though:

Friday: very thrilling. Went to Sainsbury’s.

Saturday: The Loop! No Wollmeise for me. The selection was pretty small and they didn’t have any WM laceweight, which is what I wanted. I did buy other stuff though. Pictures will go on Rav soon (tomorrow most likely). Then we met up with Ryan and went to the Tower of London. Spent almost four hours wandering around. It was pretty cool. Now, I kinda regret not taking pictures while there but at the time I was just enjoying being there. Anyway, after that, we decided to walk to Waterloo station from there. Kinda farther than we realized but it was a nice walk all the same. Had dinner at Zero Degrees.

Sunday: Went for a walk with O’s sister (to ASDA of all places XD). Then in the afternoon we went over to Ryan’s. The boys played on the Xbox while I knit and read. I bought my first ebook just before we left and I swear I can see the money just flying out of my bank account. Turns out, I really like reading on my iPod touch. I still like “actual” books too. Got two waiting for me at the library right now so I’m not fully converted yet. There are cool features to ebooks though. Like just tapping a word and it brings up a dictionary definition for it.

Monday: Met up with a Plurk friend for lunch, then went to the sci-fi exhibit in The British Library. Met up with our former dance team captain and went to The Natural History Museum. Can I just say that museums rock? Especially with free entry? Oh oh oh! And I’m pretty sure I spotted a knitter on the Tube. She was wearing a very cool earring (yarn ball with needles through it) and a knit hat and had this bag. I first saw the bag and squeed internally, then I noticed the earring and hat and was positive I’d spotted a knitter. Now, where can I get one of those bags?

Tuesday: Came home! And boy am I glad to be back. The very first thing I did when we got home was go shower. I hate London water. Makes my hair all sticky and hard to manage. Yorkshire water is so nice in comparison (although I still think that Finnish water is the best). Ryan agrees. He also said that Yorkshire water is wetter than London water. Which I agree with.

While we’ve been gone, my indoor plants have flourished. No idea how since I forgot to water them before we left. The basil’s looking a bit dead and the strawberry plant’s drooping slightly, but the lettuce and beetroot and coriander just went nuts. Tomorrow (I’ve got the rest of the week off) I’ll be transferring some of the plants outdoors now that they’re strong enough. I’m also planning on doing lots of laundry and cleaning while I’m off. I like cleaning. Don’t give me that look. It’s fun. I make it fun. Because if I didn’t, nothing would get done. Plus, I’m a bit… let’s just say I like things in order. ^_^

Oh and knitting! The BFF socks are done. Cast on for Wedges. First one is done. Gotta say, not a huge fan of the pattern. Looks really wide (did the 64 st size, M?) and really short but they fit so… Anyway, my goal is to get the second one done this week, as well as finish spinning the fibre I started spinning last autumn. What can I say? I got distracted and then I lost my spinning mojo. It hasn’t quite returned, but I really want the yarn that I’m spinning up so I’ll just push through.

It felt like these socks took forever to knit. Partially because I knit almost three of them. The first one was out of Nerdclub2000’s Elementary Sock in Macbeth’s Tartan, but after the gusset decreases, I frogged it. Weird pooling and I really didn’t like how the colors looked in reverse stockinette stitch. So now I’ve got a pair from Araucania Ranco Multy in some random number color. I love how the Ranco feels and knits up. I’d probably be happier with these socks if I hadn’t had to rip out the first one. But at least they’re done. And they’re mine. All mine!

And I’ve moved onto a pair of really happy socks! The pattern’s BFF by Cookie A and the yarn is just so pretty and happy (pinks and reds and oranges; it’s some Regia that Ryan bought me one year for Christmas) and goes so well with the simple pattern. ^_^

In other news, I will not be renewing my passport in London this week like I thought I would. I’m still going to London, since we have our train tickets and the time off work, but if I can renew it in Finland for much cheaper, then I will. Seriously, £105 to renew it in London (that’s with normal delivery!) or 53€ for the exact same thing in Finland. Now, since I don’t have a week to hang out in Finland, I’ll be paying a bit more to get it done the same day (82€/£71), but it’s still cheaper than London. Ridiculous. Ridiculous prices.

The bright side of this? I have more money to spend on yarn at Woolfest! :D (And I will be buying new shoes too since my current ones are kinda falling apart. It helps that I’ve got a £10 off Amazon voucher to use too.)

Isn’t it cute? This teapot was a Christmas gift from my sister Jaz (along with tea and teaballs). She knows me so well. I love the pattern and the colors on it. ^_^

No new news really. Still knitting Rhombus. I would’ve had the pair done by now, but I got sidetracked by two things. Firstly, I discovered the library in the centre of Sheffield (how had I not been in there before now??) and I’ve spent my lunch breaks reading The Red Queen by Philippa Gregory instead of knitting. And while I’ve been at home, I’ve been knitting a DK version of one of my designs. The shawlette has been sent to testers and I’m hoping to release the pattern by the end of July (it all depends on how fast my testers are and how much trouble the charts are giving me). So that’s where my knitting time has gone.

I was just on the phone with my dad (just occurred to me, I only talk with him like once a month. Huh.). My youngest sister Jade wants to come over at some point this summer and I was just letting him know that I need some advance warning so that I can request time off work for when she’s here. I hope she does get to come. She’s really cute and loves to be photographed, so I could use her as my knitwear model. I wish we all lived closer to each other. We’re all so spread out right now. Ellu is in Chicago, Jaz is in Belgium and Jade’s in Finland while I’m here. At least it’s fairly easy for me to get to each of them. But it’s still at least a day’s travel, no matter where I’m going. And it’s not as cheap as just driving over (like we do with O’s parents). It’d be nice if O’s sister lived closer too. I want to play with my nephew! And teach him Finnish. I want him to be able to speak to his future cousins in both languages, not just in English.

Yesterday, I went to the Land of Shoppertunity. This is amazing for two reasons. One, I hate crowds and going to Meadowhall on a Saturday? So busy. (Don’t even get me started on the women bringing their massive strollers into the tiny shops where they knock over everything because they don’t fit in between the racks.) Two, I actually found something! I’m going to my youngest sister’s confirmation in July and it hit me that I didn’t really have anything to wear to it. So I went dress hunting. The key to a successful shopping trip? Do your homework. I went online the night before and browsed websites until I found about ten or so dresses that had potential. So when I went in, I knew exactly what I was looking for and that the shop had at least three dresses that fit my criteria. In the end, I went with a dress that I hadn’t seen online, but that’s not the point. It was a lot less stressful when I knew what I was going for. So to go with the above dress, I also got earrings, flower clips for my hair and a green cropped cardigan that ties in the front. I considered buying shoes as well, but then I remembered that I have the perfect pair at home which I’ve only worn once so far, so I’d better go with those. Yesterday’s shopping trip also made me miss Jaz. She’s the perfect shopping partner. We really need to live closer together. She would’ve been way more excited about my purchases than O was.

As for knitting? Not a lot of progress. I started knitting Rhombus by Cookie A with my Nerdclub2000 sock club yarn, but I tried it on yesterday and I’m not loving how it looks. It started doing this weird pooling thing after the heel flap and the leg just looks really muddy when I wear it. So I’m probably going to rip it back and use another yarn for the pattern (I think I’ve got some pink-ish Ranco Multy in my stash that’d work). And obviously use the Nerdclub2000 yarn for something else. Maybe BFF? Or Wedge?

The above socks have been done for awhile now. The sad thing is, they’re not for me. I mentioned them awhile ago. My sister replied to my e-mail with: “thank youu, i like socks !” so she’s getting them. I’m just annoyed that the second one fits me! I realized why my gauge changed so much between the two socks. I knit the leg of the first sock while at work, but the second leg was knit while I was at home during the weekend. Less stress at home so… yeah. At least she likes and appreciates socks (even if she calls the ones I knit “fancy-pants socks” and doesn’t like wearing shoes with them).

With all of the bank holiday weekends, I went on a little lace shawl kick. Knit Adamas by Miriam Felton in three days (used Misti Alpaca Lace). I almost don’t want to give it away, but it’s not for me, so I can’t show it off until the recipient has seen it first. I then started the Echo Flower Shawl by Jenny Johnson Johnen, but as it turns out, that shawl just isn’t meant to be. I cast on with 3.75 mm needles; decided I didn’t like it, so I ripped it out. Cast on again with 3.25mm needles, dropped a stitch and had to rip back. Cast on again and after the set up chart, the yarn broke. So I’m just not meant to knit that shawl right now. Maybe later. So instead, I’ve made more squares. I haven’t forgotten about the blanket, but I ran out of leftovers, so I had to set it aside for awhile. But I’m over the half way point, so yay!

Oh oh oh! Almost forgot. O & E went to a dance comp in Northwich yesterday (I was supposed to compete too, but my partner dropped out last week. I’d already said that I’d drive and E’s bf needed their car, so I drove). They entered Beginner’s Ballroom, Novice Ballroom and Beginner’s Latin. And won! All of them!

Judi - Apr 5, 2011

Great pics, those socks look fab!

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