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Well, we got back from Scotland on Wednesday. Technically we got to Sheffield at about 3pm but we went over to O’s parents for the afternoon/evening. See, O got Stark Trek TNG episodes on blu-ray and wanted to share. We also needed to drop off our car there so that O’s dad could go take it to the garage the next morning (one of the windows broke, as in the electrical mechanism thing broke so it was stuck in the up position). Repairing it was pricey, which has led me to the conclusion that our car is female. Attention-seeking, high-maintenance and, excuse my French, a bit of a bitch.

But! We did get to go to Edinburgh. The drive there was nice. I know my dad would love the drive. All full of curves and up and down. Almost like a roller coaster. The only annoying bit was that when on the single carriageways, there aren’t many places to pass other vehicles because of how much the road twists and turns. So if you’re stuck behind a slow driver, then you’re stuck for quite awhile. The views however were fabulous. We stayed a dinky B&B for three nights. The only thing that it really had going for it was the location. The room itself was adequate, but I wouldn’t stay there again for various reasons. One of the more amusing aspects of the place was that someone kept altering the negative guestbook entries into positives. When we arrived someone had written “Poor attitude, 0 stars” and by the time we left, it read “Good attitude, 2 stars.” Then there was a comment that had been completely scribbled out. Guess there weren’t enough words to transform into positives with that one…

Edinburgh itself is lovely (go see Picasa/Google+ for more photos; there’s a link at the bottom to the Picasa album). We saw a lot of the tourist sights like the Castle, the zoo and the Edinburgh Dungeons (one of the cannibals snuck up on me and made me shriek which was slightly embarrassing). It rained all day on Monday when we went to the zoo, but the next day was nice. We also went to two museums and found a really nice inexpensive restaurant (City Restaurant). I also came home with a really nice print by Matylda Konecka I ran across in one of the galleries.

On the way back, we stopped by Heddon-on-the-Wall to see Hadrian’s Wall. I know it isn’t tall, but I was still surprised at how wide it is. We then stopped by a small place called Dingle Dell Deli for lunch. They had really nice sandwiches and I also picked up a jar of homemade raspberry jam.

I’m glad we got to go, but I’m even more glad to be home.

Edinburgh Trip

Oh dear. June has just flown by. Lots of things happened.

Two of my sisters came to visit. Had loads of fun. Miss them. But I’ll get to see them at Christmas.

WOOLFEST (this will get its own post eventually).

We’ve booked our trip to SCOTLAND (don’t ask why I’m typing some stuff in all caps. Some words/events just require it to be so.) So excited. There will be pictures when we get back.

Been shopping in the sales. Bought lots of girly stuff during some amazing deals. First it was Body Shop stuff for 1/3 of the price, today it was jewellery and two tops from Dorothy Perkins for about a third of the price too! 

Remembered why I don’t wear a lot of blue nail polish. My fingers look like I’m slowing turning into a Smurf.

I’ve become addicted to www.jigidi.com. Free online jigsaw puzzles. ‘Nuff said.

I seem to have two beetroots growing outdoors. Not sure how they’re still alive since I planted them last year and then just forgot about them. Very impressed with their hardiness.

Also been reading a lot. Currently reading Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson. Dying with laughter.

As for knitting, the Green Leaf Shrug (a variation of the Safire pattern; I added lace to the sleeves) is finally done. PSA: Sewing on buttons is a pain in the neck. I’m also participating in WendyKnits’ Summer Solstice Mystery Shawl KAL. Using yarn I bought while in Chicago two years ago. And The Unique Sheep’s Spirit of Guernsey KAL is about to start (Black Day Lily on Ling with beads from EarthFaire). Can’t wait!

And I’ll leave you for now with a convo from my work today:

L: “Guess what’s the smallest country in the world.” C shrugs. L: “Vatican city.” T: “Isn’t that where Batman’s from?”

From Blog photos

The pink blob I showed a photo of last time? Turned into a pink reindeer! It was for my team lead at work who loves pink and reindeer (I get horrified looks whenever I mention how tasty elk is). So it was her birthday this week and she got the reindeer and a silk scarf that was dyed by Laura from The Unique Sheep. She loved both gifts and totally wasn’t expecting the reindeer. I’d adamantly told her that she wasn’t getting a knitted reindeer. Which was true. This one was crocheted. :D

I’ve finally finished my Jaden sweater. Just in time for the fabulous summer weather which of course means it’s way too warm to wear it now. Over 25C for the last week! Love it, but at the same time I wish the UK had predictable weather. Would make getting dressed in the morning a lot easier. So for now, Jaden’s going to wait until it cools down a bit again (which won’t be too long, I’m sure). I tried a few sts of the crab stitch for the neckline, but with Lucy’s input, we decided that it wouldn’t really work with the rest of the sweater. So I only did two rounds of single crochet (decreasing a few sts on the second round to firm up the neckline a bit).

I’ve been working on the FrankenBlanket of DOOM. The longer I work on it, the more descriptive the name gets. Used to be the Granny Square Throw, then FrankenBlanket and now it’s the FrankenBlanket of DOOM. The latest addition is because it feels like it’ll be doomsday before I ever get this thing done. I’m at 60% complete now with the square count (640/1050). Then there’s going to be all of the joining to do…

As for what I’m knitting now? Endpaper Mitts in blue and yellow. They’re turning out really nice so far, but I’m getting kinda bored with the pattern already (haven’t even made it to the thumb separation yet!). It’s nice, kinda-mindless knitting but not mindless enough for me to not look at it all the time. So I really need to be listening to audiobooks or TV shows that don’t require me to see the screen all the time.

Two of my sisters are coming to visit next month! So excited. Don’t know what shenanigans we’ll get up to, but I’m sure that whatever we do it’ll be fun. So if you don’t hear from me for the next two weeks, it’ll be because they’re here. Not sure how much knitting I’ll get done though…

Can you guess what this will be?

It’s great for using up leftovers. It’ll be one funky… well, you’ll see next time when I’ve got photos of the FO. It’s also a great reminder for me why I don’t crochet that much. Because the gauge has to be super tight on these to make sure the stuffing won’t poke out, it really hurts my hands. Especially if the fibres don’t have a lot of give in them (like the alpaca that I’ve used for a part of it). I love the finished product, but I just don’t want to deal with the stiff fingers and cramps I get while making it. So I’ll just stick to knitting for the most part.

Jaden’s pieces are all complete and blocked. I had every intention of starting the seaming this weekend, but things got in the way. Plus I couldn’t decide how I wanted to start the seaming, so I’m leaving it for next weekend. In the meantime, I’ve started a lace scarf out of some very pretty pale lilac sillk laceweight. My own pattern and once it’s done and tested and all that jazz, I’ll be putting it up on Ravelry as a free download.

On a final note to this super short post, Happy Mother’s Day! I wish I could see my mom today, but I did get to speak to her on the phone earlier so that’ll have to do until I see her again. I really hope she likes her present when my sister takes it back with her next month. All I’ve let her know is that it’s done, and she’ll just have to wait a few more weeks to actually see what it is. :D

It’ll be nice to have the extra day to chill. Good thing too since we’ve got so much stuff planned for today. We’re going to go see The Avengers. Then we’re going to go shopping. I say we, but really, it’s me doing the shopping with O tagging along. I’ve seen some really nice dresses in Dorothy Perkins online, so I’m going go try them on before buying. I don’t think I’m very good at judging how something’s going to fit from just photos so I always want to try clothes on before buying them. I’ll try to remember to show pics of what I’ve come home with if I do find something I like that fits.

Still knitting on Jaden. I know. It’s been almost two months. I never knit on anything for two months (ignoring the sock yarn blanket; that’ll still be a WIP in five years from now at the pace that I’m working on it). But I got bored with it, so I only worked on it at knit night for a few weeks while I worked on secret projects at home. I’m back to having that as my only project (again, ignoring the sock yarn blanket) and you know what, I’m actually seeing progress! Funny how that works. I’m on the second sleeve and I’m determined to get it done this weekend. I might even get to block the pieces to get them ready for seaming if I knit fast enough. I’m also wanting to cast on a lace project. I’m going to sign up for the next Unique Sheep KAL but that won’t start until July. I’ll need something to knit in the meantime. Jaden’s not going to take me that long to finish! Besides, Jaden’s my Woolfest sweater and Woolfest is in June…

Well, I completed the 30 Day Shred again. I had fun challenging myself to do the advanced moves. Can’t do them all for the full time alloted, but I’m getting there. But for about a week now, I haven’t really done any exercise. Year end at work really wiped me out on Monday and I’ve just been really tired the rest of the week. I’m feeling the lack of exercise. I’m not as happy as I am after a workout. And I haven’t been sleeping very well this past week. Plus, I want to make sure the results I’ve had so far stick! So I’m definitely going to go back to exercising daily. I just need to decide what I want to do next. I’ve got two DVDs waiting for me: Beginner’s Pilates and Billy Blanks’ Tae-Bo II, so probably one of those.

From Shawls and scarves!

Continuing on from last week’s theme of carpet beetles, I decided to take all of my scarves and shawls outside for a bit while checking for damage. Looks like my neck should never be cold. That photo is actually missing three of my shawls (Secret Garden, Aeolian and Tea Rose). Yeah, I may have a slight issue with accessories. But I’m okay with that. I like having options.

This past week has also been exciting design-wise: Two of my patterns have been released!

Last weekend the second shipment of The Unique Sheep’s Smell The Roses club started arriving in mailboxes. This month was my shawlette: Tea Rose. It’s one of my favourite designs so far because it’s got lace patterning on both sides. It will be available for individual purchase in October 2012.

Two days ago, I released the Mercury shawlette. It’s the first in what I hope will be a complete series of shawls/shawlettes/scarves based on the planets. I already have the yarn ready for the next one (a yummy DK-weight base) and most of the stitch patterns. Now it’s just a matter of working out the math before I can knit it up and get it tested. I used Handmaiden Sea Silk for the sample. Knits up like a dream. It’s so smooth and drapey. And shiny! This is definitely one of my fancier shawlettes. ^_^ I also want to thank my fabulous testers: Jessica, Lucy and Sarah. They caught my ridiculous mistakes and gave really good suggestions on how to make the pattern clearer. I really can’t thank them enough for sticking with it.

I’ve decided to do the 30 Day Shred again. From the beginning. After about six weeks of not doing it, it’s kicking my butt just as much as it did back in January when I first started doing it. But this time I know that I can do it, so I’m trying to do the harder moves when I can. When Jillian Michaels says she wants you to feel like you’re going to die, she’s not kidding. I feel amazing afterwards every time. After I’ve caught my breath that is. And no longer feel like throwing up. ;)

We’ve been having gorgeous weather here lately. Like five days in a row of sunshine and warmth. That was broken yesterday (icky grey skies, but no rain). Today? Back to being gorgeous. So I heeded the Yarn Harlot’s advice and aired out my stash in the sunshine for a few hours. Luckily I have not found anything in my stash, but I do know that our house has a carpet beetle problem (it’s over 100 years old so there are bound to be issues!) so I keep checking it more often than not. Same goes for all of my hand knits and natural fibre sweaters (ie the ones that my dad has bought for me).

I remember how devastated and frustrated I was when I first discovered the infestation. It was horrible.

I’d left some of my swatches out in the attic bedroom. I didn’t see the point in storing them away properly since they were just swatches. So, when I went to tidy up the bedroom/stash room/random storage room a few weeks later, I picked up one of the swatches by a corner. It crumbled to pieces. ‘That’s weird’ I thought and picked up another swatch. Also crumbed. And that’s when I saw them. The woolly bears, aka larva of the varied carpet beetle, were all over the third swatch. It grossed me out to no end, but even before I knew what the squirmy tiny things were, I knew they had to die. So I grabbed some tissues and squished until I’d got them all. I checked the rest of my stash. Back then it was all stored in the attic. Everything that had been in plastic ziplock bags was fine. The one handspun singles that I’d left unprotected? Ruined. Eaten through in at least ten places. Good thing I wasn’t attached to that singles. I’d only been practising drafting with that one and hadn’t planned on doing much more with it at the time. Then the studying and exterminations began. I read up on the little terrors. Our landlady was great and got the exterminator to come over six times over the course of two years without any complaints. But to no avail. They just won’t die.

I’ve resigned myself to expect to see them every spring now. So far I haven’t found any woolly bears, but I have found some adults just randomly hanging out on the walls (obviously, they die a swift death immediately). It’s kind of worrying that I haven’t actually found the woolly bears yet. I don’t know what kind of damage they’ve inflicted this time.

I won’t worry about it though. I can’t do anything about them, so I’ll keep up with my constant surveillance of my knitted and knitting goodies. Maybe one day I’ll have managed to squish them all and delivered the threatening message to any other carpet beetles that may be considering setting up shop in my stash: Enter my home and you will die without mercy.

P.S. I’ve updated my Rav projects and stash pages with photos. Go have a peek if you want to see the Jacqueline cardigan.

1. Kinda bored with my current knitting (Jaden, a sweater from Knitty.com; can’t remember if I’ve mentioned it here yet). But it’s for Woolfest so I’ll keep going on it. Might leave it as a sleeveless top though. Haven’t decided yet.

2. Spinning of my Wensleydale is almost complete. Just have the plying left to do. Bored with that too.

3. Have knitting projects in mind that I want to cast on, but don’t have the yarn for them yet.

4. Still need to buy buttons for my Jacqueline cardigan/jacket. Maybe I should get them at the same time as the yarn for #3?

5. Had an amazing lunch/dinner today: A salad of romaine lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red grapes and flaked almonds drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil with some melted goat’s cheese on toasted ciabatta bread.

6. My knuckles really itch. Still haven’t figured out why. Been itching for about a month now.

7. Weather has been gorgeous lately, so I’ve been going out walking/hiking/running for an hour on the weekends instead of doing the 30 Day Shred. Also, swapped out that workout for a TaeBo one with Billy Blanks that’s only 8 minutes long (but the actual video of it is about 15 mins long including warm-up and cool down). It’s a nice change.

8. I remembered how to set up my sewing machine! I felt so clever today. All I did was hem a pair of my work-pants, but still.

9. Kinda wanna do some more sewing. Possibly because of #1 and #2.

10. Have bought seeds (basil, chives and parsley I think?). My plants will grow and then they’ll die, because that’s what happens when I try to garden. Haven’t given up hope yet though. Haven’t actually planted seeds yet either.

11. Why on earth did I wake up at 6:30am on a Sunday and not be able to go back to sleep?

12. Have received some awesome packages in the mail lately. a) My March Great British Wool Club shipment came. It’s been a fun club, but I won’t be signing up for it again. Saving my pennies for Woolfest! b) Then about a week later my Sip’N’Stitch came. Last one of the coffee shipments. There’s a tea one that I won’t be signing up for. Again, saving for Woolfest! c) Got me some cute tea pot and tea cup stitch markers from Stephcuddles on Etsy (exactly those pictured! Had a hard time deciding between them and the blue ones). d) And I won some stitch markers by BeaGin Design (a friend of mine on Plurk). They are so handy. Already used them while knitting Jaden.

13. Kinda feel like going away on a mini-trip somewhere. Maybe Belgium for a few days. But then I remember that my sisters are coming over in June. And we’re going to Scotland in July. And there’s Woolfest! So I’m probably not going anywhere just yet.

Knitting/Spinning:

1. My mom’s shawl is done. Hop on over to my Ravelry project page to see photos. Isn’t it gorgeous? Kinda want to keep it, but the whole time that I was knitting it I knew I was making it for my mom so now when I see it, I just think of her. So I can’t keep it.

2. O’s sister’s shawl is done. Also very pretty, but I’m not that attached to it. The lace pattern is kinda hidden by the colours, but I picked the yarn because O’s sister’s favourite colour is purple and if it’s worn against a solid light colour, you can see the patterning.

3. My Damson is done. Had to modify the bind off since I ran out of yarn. The shawlette turned out huge.

4. Wow, that’s a lot of shawls. And I still want to cast on another. Possibly with beads.

5. Found a pattern for the bulky yarn: Jacqueline (a cardigan from Knitty.com). It’s coming along fine. Lower body is complete, first sleeve has been cast on. It’s slow going though because of the Rizotto patterning.

6. Finished plying my brown Shetland. Got a 3-ply skein that weighs 94g (74.5yds) and a 2-ply skein that weighs 14g (17 yds).

7. Have drafted up some Wensleydale, so I’ll be spinning that next. Going to try to do another 3-ply I think.

Books/TV/Other Entertainment:

1. Read one of the Little House spin-off series books, Little House in the Highlands. I liked it, but it just didn’t captivate me like the original series has.

2. Then I read a fairly sad book: The Boy In The Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne. I knew going into it that it’d be upsetting, but it didn’t stop me from reading it.

3. Still watching a lot of The Biggest Loser, but my current favourite show is Masterchef. I really hope Shelina makes it. Or Jay. I’d love for either of them to cook me dinner one day.

4. Weather has been odd recently. +16C in February in northern England. Not complaining, the sunshine’s been lovely. Yes, I consider the weather entertaining.

Well, seeing as I don’t have much new to report on the knitting front (still working on the same two shawls and blanket as before), I’ll jump right into the book reviews.

First up, Traitors of the Tower by Alison Weir. Now, I’ve read both fiction and non-fiction by her. I’m not a fan of her fiction. Her writing style just doesn’t gel with what I want to read. This book however is non-fiction so I thought it would be fine. I really should have read the blurb about the book before putting it on my wishlist (I received it as a Christmas gift). Based on the title and the author, I was expecting proper biographies of people imprisoned in the Tower of London. Instead, the book in my hand was slim with slightly bigger text than usual. It was a QuickReads book (again, this is listed on the website, I just didn’t notice it before putting it on my wishlist). It felt really simple (duh), which made me not like the book because I wasn’t expecting it. It’s fine as a quick reference book, but a bit of a disappointment (partly of my own making).

The next one, a novel by Michelle Lovric, The Book of Human Skin. I haven’t been able to decide whether I liked the book or not. The narrative is compelling, especially after about a quarter of the way through, so I had to finish it. Some of the characters were repulsive. I read through Sor Loreta’s and Minguillo Fasan’s sections as fast as I could because I didn’t want to spend any more time than I had to with them. Both are warped and insane and just unpleasant. So, the book it well written and it’s a great work of fiction, but I can’t say if I still actually liked it. I also was a bit unsure about the decision to write Gianni’s sections with incorrect spellings and grammar. It was hard to get used to it. I could hear him just fine and I don’t think the non-traditional writing created any more depth to his voice. It took a bit too long for my taste to get to the point where all of the narratives come together. I’m sure some of Sor Loreta’s sections could have been condensed. The entire book felt a bit long-winded now that I think about it. On the whole, the book was very readable, but I wouldn’t read it again.