SP12 Q of the week – w/c 25th Aug

Service Announcement:
Sorry, I know the blog is chocka with SP12 stuff at the moment. Normal service on the blog will resume once normal service in my real-life has resumed.
Thank you.

What is your proudest knitting moment?
Well, after my first garter-stitch scarf (which I knit way too wide!) and bag (another square) I decided to branch out into something more interesting. I picked up a “kit” for making a massive throw, which is still technically on the needles. I’m mad proud of my first socks, which are here: It’s a plain sock pattern with the coolest yarn I could find at the time. It’s Opal Feelings 1702. Although there are holes where I picked up the heel flap, I got confused and decreased every row on the toes, and the cast on is a little tight as I only knew how to do one kind of cast on, I love these, my first ever socks. They’ve allowed me to go on to knit lots of socks!
However, I’m also proud of my first ever sweater This was for my boyfriend. He was very patient as I cast on in December 2007 and didn’t finish until July 2008! However, he’s worn it more than once since then, despite the sleeves being a little longer than he would prefer! I think it looks great on, and that’s the thing that makes me proud of it, it’s wearable!
Hopefully I’ll be really proud of loads of other finished objects to come too!

I’m also proud of myself every time I learn a new technique to make my crafting better. I was really pleased when I learnt a different cast-on to use on sock-cuffs, making them stretchier. I was really proud of the cabled scarves I made at Christmas. I was proud of myself when I made a mistake on the monkey socks, realised I couldn’t live with it, dropped the stitches down a couple of rows and fixed it without having to tink or rip-back!.

What is the one thing that you can’t get right?
One thing I can’t get right? Hmm, that’s tough! I bought some cotton yarn and tried to knit a lace cardigan for my Mum (she didn’t know about it, thank goodness). It was hideous yarn barf. I made mistakes, I hadn’t learnt how to decrease in pattern, I didn’t swatch – basically I did everything wrong! But, I’m putting those demons to bed as I’ve cast on for – you guessed it – a lacy cardigan for my Mum! This time I have slightly more forgiving yarn (still cotton, but much softer) and I have pre-read the pattern. I understand what I have to do. I still didn’t swatch, but I can live with that.

If we’re talking about areas to improve in, though, I can talk about that!

• Learn to knit faster. I know this just requires practice (and an easy pattern) but I’d love to be able to finish a pair of socks in a week. It takes me about 3 weeks, or more, at the moment.
• Read charts better. I can figure charts out, but I still like written instructions.
• Design more, and better, patterns. I’ve butchered a basic sock pattern to make my own lacey sock pattern twice now, only one success. I am working on understanding how the patterns work for these things so that I can better design my own versions of them. That includes clothing, bags, socks, whatever I think of!

Secret Pal 12 Package 2!

I know I already blogged twice today, but I just had to post about my recent parcel.

My secret pal shipped this latest installment to me, and it arrived on Friday, but I only had chance to collect it today!
You might be able to see what there is, but here's the list anyway:

• Sock Yarn from Cinders Knitting - isn't it fantastic colours? I'll have to try to find out more!
• Yarn Harlot's latest book, "Things I learned from knitting..." - I've read the first couple of things, it's very funny!
• 70% cocoa chocolate. Yum.
• Some pretty and nice-smelling soap
• and a lovely card

I'm really pleased with this package! The yarn and book are so fab, and I've already begun munching the chocolate.
Thank you Secret Pal, whoever you are. I'm still unable to decipher the return address, and my blog stats (yes, I looked in the end) are no help.

SP12 Q’ of the week (w/c 18th Aug)

What is the best thing you've ever received in the mail/post?

That’s such a hard question! I love getting post of all kinds though. Some of my favourite post is as follows

• Packages from swaps – I love getting such thoughtful and interesting packages. I’ve been involved in five swaps (including SP12) and have received great goodies each time. read more about SP11 here, here and here, the Discworld “box” swap here and the discworld sock swap here, and the CSI swap is here. Plus see here for my first package in SP12 which was fab!
• Letters, from anyone really! I do like letters from my Aunt in America. I also enjoy thank you letters and invitations. Isn’t handwritten post a lovely thing?
• Yarn. Whether it’s yarn from UKarma (a swap group I belong to) or whether it’s yarn I’ve ordered, I love getting yarn in the post. With many of the companies that I order from shipping so quickly it’s almost like being in a shop!

I don’t like receiving bills or junk mail (show me someone who does and I’ll show you a mad person!). However, I don’t consider takeaway menus to be junk mail. That’s a service!

I am very excited today because I finally have time to go to the sorting office and collect the parcel that is waiting for me, and has been since last Friday. I was so busy over the weekend (York-Edinburgh-York-Gainsborough-York in three days) that I couldn’t go on Saturday, so it’s had to wait. I don’t know whether it’s the Noro I ordered from Stash or not. (they had a sale, I suspect it’s all gone now.)

About that holiday...

So, I said I’d tell you about my holiday in France. I’m going to keep it brief.

We did a lot of eating a drinking, as seems to be customary in France.
Nadine and Jaques, who we stayed with, had a cat. We met lots of Leon’s family, spanning several generations. I’m afraid we didn’t take many photos, but here’s the cutest (and newest) Wendy, with her mum, Severine. We did, as I said, a lot of drinking.
This is vintage Armegnac from 1949 - it's over 30 years older than me! And I did quite a bit of knitting on my Ravelympic socks. Not enough, though, I didn’t finish in time. Oh well.

Are you getting enough fibre? (links fixed)

I have SO much to talk about. This post will catch up on the fibre stuff. Then sometime I’ll post about my lovely relaxing holiday in France...

I promised you pictures of the pretty things I bought at the spinning lesson, so here you are. This is Bamboo/Merino from Bonkers Fiber And this is Super-wash Merino from Royale Hare I bought a spindle too, but haven’t photographed it. I also bought carders online. I’ve also bought a little bit more yarn to make a sweater for mum and some random yarn to make I don’t know what. I bought some Noro in the Stash of Chester

I also received my Discworld Sock Swap package, many thanks to my pal Kate. She makes doody little bags too; mine has Rainbow Brite on it! WOOO!

AND I finished the Monkey socks. I love them. I love the pattern, I love the yarn, I love the fit, I love the colour, I love the heel and the toe and all the bits in between. I love the twisted rib cuff. I love the monkey socks. I may knit them again. Next time I’ll do the “no purl” version, for a little variety. But seriously if you knit socks and you think these are pretty – what are you waiting for? Why aren’t you already digging through your stash for some suitable yarn? If you decide to buy yarn, the NDS yarn is called The Natural Dye Studio Alpaca/Merino 4ply/Sock. This was a gift from my secret pal in SP11, but I’ve been back and bought more since! And, NDS have a SALE every Monday, so check them out!

SP12 – Q' of the week! (4 and 11 Aug 2008)

w/c 04/08
Have you ever entered your knitting (or anything else) in the fair? Would you ever consider it?
I’m sure that at some point I have been entered into some kind of dancing show at a fair – in fact I’m pretty sure that my dancing troupe performed at some kind of farming-based show when I was younger.
However, I’ve never baked cakes, made jam or knitted anything for a fair. Perhaps one day the great Yorkshire and Lincolnshire (or wherever I live by then) shows will have these sorts of events one day, then I would probably enter – if only to support the craft!

w/c 11/08
What Olympic event would best describe your knitting/knitting style?
I always have lots on the go at once, so I guess I’m a decathalon-style knitter. Also, like the athletes who compete for the multi-discipline medals, I am not the best at any one thing, but I am a pretty good all-rounder. I even crochet*!
I actually entered the sock-putt for the Ravelympics, but I think I may not finish. I’m that putter who has made it to the event but who drops the shot on their foot. Ho hum.

* I actually enjoy crafts generally, I’ve only come across one craft which I don’t find thoroughly enjoyable and that is cross-stitch. Don’t get me wrong, I like the end results! I just don’t have the patience when doing something like that. Perhaps my mistake was choosing a big cross stitch to begin with. Maybe I should have picked a bookmark or greetings card size instead of the one I have which is a foot wide.
Otherwise, I have begun my first quilting project (it has chickens on). It’s been on hold with the curtains needing to be made and with the move into the craft room.
I have also taken up spinning (as you may already know) – photos of the nice spinning stuff to come eventually too. I find spinning very satisfying. It’s pretty relaxing too, although too much spinning results in arm-ache.
I’ve got some yarn to dye too, but I’m waiting on something to dye it with. A lovely lady in the US is sending me some Kool-Aid to have a stab at Kool-Aid dying. I might have a go at food colouring dye too. I figure I should begin with the stuff that can’t kill me or make me ill!
I also have stacks of stuff for making greetings cards with. That’s pretty fun, and although I think the initial outlay is quite high, now we can make a card for most occasions at the drop of a hat!
I’m also interested in learning how to make jewellery, not least so that I can have a stab at making stitch markers. I’ve spotted some “make your own soap” and “make your own candles” things on e-bay which I find intriguing too.
How cool would it be to make soap, make a washcloth and then make a packet for it, all using your own skills? Brilliant.

Je Ne Suis Pas Mort

(I'm Not Dead)

I've just been on holiday, and am not yet sorted out to post pictures of it...
And I have a package from my sock swap partner to talk about...
So watch this space!

J'ai juste été en vacances, et je ne suis pas prêt à signaler des images de lui encore...
Et j'ai un paquet de mon associé d'échange de chaussette à parler...
Observez ainsi cet espace!

You Spin Me Right Round...

I was planning on not posting until I had taken pretty pictures of my latest acquisitions.
That might mean I never posted again, so instead I am going to break out my best descriptive skillz and see if I can explain to you the lushness of my latest score.

On Sunday, we had a York knitters’ gathering at Minniemoll’s house; where the lovely CarolL and hubby taught us how to spin. It was a really nice few hours. (if you go to CarolL’s blog and link through to her flickr, the spindle o the wisp is mine!)
Having already had a little spinning experience, (I was given the Nancy’s Knit-Knacks Spindle Kit for Christmas by OH) and my own spindle, I feel I had a bit of a head start. That said, some of the other ladies were quickly producing what looked a lot like actual yarn!

A yarn sculpture
Originally uploaded by maryplain

Woo! anyway, I had lots of fun spinning some nice thin singles, and then plying them. I got to try out a nostepinne. A nostepinne is basically a stick, but a bit more glamorous. It is a smooth slightly tapered piece of wood, with a notch around the tip. (It’s really very fallic – though that could be my filthy mind) you can use it to make a center-pull ball for plying with, rather than the Andean bracelet. The Andean bracelet involves wrapping the single around your hand, and around your middle finger. If you’re not careful you can cut off the blood!
So, at the end of the session, CarolL and hubby brought out lots of beautiful spindles and roving for us to drool over peruse and buy.
I picked some superwash merino in pink and blue and green and yellow and white. It made me think of clowns’ faces and sweeties all at once. Resolute that this would be my only purchase (other than my teeny spindle for spinning fine yarn with) I then peeked into the bamboo-merino bag. And there was a lovely pink-and-purple-and-green roving that just screamed out “Tsuki! Buy me!” so I did.
I’m still practicing on the Falkland top that we were practicing with on Sunday. I’m now using my teeny tiny spindle, which is made from walnut wood. It weighs only 14g (unless I mis-remember) and has such a lovely spinning motion.

We’re almost ready for the holiday. I still have to de-fuzz and sort out my nails (I was going to go to the salon, but she’s booked up), I still have to pack the cases although we do have a pile o’stuff we’re taking, which is good. Also, I have to sort out my knitting and crocheting for the journeys.
I will probably be finishing the second monkey on the way down South. I should offer to do some of the driving though. Then I have most of Thursday and possibly some of Friday morning to finish that!
Of course, I can’t take knitting needles on the plane, so thanks to a lovely swapper in the UKarma group on Ravelry, I have some wooden crochet hooks to take instead. I hope to make Fit To Be Tied (Rav link only) from the Happy Hooker. I’m hoping to photocopy those pages so that I don’t have to take the whole book with me! There are a couple of others that I would consider too, but I don’t think that the flight itself is that long.
Then, any time after the start of the Beijing Olympics (20:00 in Beijing, 13:00 BST or 14:00 French time) I can cast on for either of the socks I plan to make for OH. They are also my sock putt entry, so have o be finished by the closing ceremony on the 24th (which is also when OH and I hope to be in Edinburgh for the Festival, so perhaps I’ll get train-based knitting time, though I do have to post that I’ve finished, so really my deadline is the 22nd)
That should be plenty of knitting to be going at, so that’s all I am taking. I am still undecided about whether to take my spindle or not. I’m erring towards not at the moment.

Question of the Week (w/c 28th Jul)

What is your favourite supper for a hot summer evening?
Oh, now that depends. Am I cooking it?
If I am cooking, I like to do grilled fish with salad.
If my OH is cooking, I love barbeque! We do corn-on-the-cob, sausages (the good ones with 80% meat), steaks, fish, chicken skewers, and I make potato salad and sometimes I make salsa too.
If we’re going out, well, I still think sea-food is a good choice, or Mexican food. And a Margarita, no ice with a salt rim.

When we were in Florida last year OH and I spent a couple of days in Clearwater (if you get the chance, go there – it’s beautiful and relaxing!). One of the evenings we walked from the hotel (nobody walks in Florida, it was an interesting experience!) to a sea-food place the other side of the flyover. (I know; how romantic does that sound!) But it was really nice.

I’m afraid I can’t offer any recipes. I kind of throw things together and hope for the best when I cook.

Darn Ravelry Queues!

My knitting queue is out of hand. I have 87 items in my knitting queue on Ravelry. 29 pairs of socks (some for OH), 28 jumpers, cardigans, vests and shrugs (one for Mum), 8 baby things (mostly to choose between for various babies that are expected) and the rest are scarves, shawls, gloves, cuffs, hats, legwarmers, and other random things. Now clearly I’m not just working my way down the list, though I do try to shunt the things I want to make soon to the top of the list. So, a short summary of what I hope to make soon (I have more than one on the go usually so I’ve split them into categories):

• Socks
  1. One of either Hedgerow Socks or Storm for OH using the CHI I bought at the NDS for him.
     This is also going to be my entry into the Ravelympics, I’m participating for Team Ankh Morpork Knitters in the Sock Putt! (knit any sock between the opening and closing ceremonies)
  2. Vinnland for me using the green stuff most likely
  3. Spring Thaw Socks again for me. I don’t know what yarn yet, but it needs to be solidish. (Sorry, no link – they’re in Knitters’ Summer 2008
  4. Windowpane Socks (again no link, sorry) using some leftover Opal most likely, but who knows!
• Jumpers, cardigans and such,
  1. Beautiful in Blue for Mum in Kool Kotton (Aqua colour) – this was in SK in November last year
  2. Apres Surf Hoodie for me, using the Rowanspun I bought especially. I think I need needles.
  3. Hey, Teach! for me, I don’t know what yarn yet.
• Shawls and Scarves
  1. Clapotis using the lovely BFL I bought at the NDS open day
  2. Muir using the Violet green Laceweight yarn
  3. Forest Canopy Shawl (pattern needs purchasing) using the Fyberspates Scrumptious
• Other Stuff
  1. Baby bibs – I’ve got some yarn in my stash suitable (ie washable) in blue
  2. Jacques Cousteau Hat for OH using leftovers from Manly
  3. Cabled Newsboy Cap from the lush Toft Alpacas DK
  4. Recycle Tote (a freebie from Knit.1)
  5. Mosey - I need yarn for this though
  6. Seat belt snuggles (to stop the seat belt rub in vest tops!)

So, as you can see, I have plenty to be knitting! I still have to finish the current sweater, socks, scarf on the needles (the sudoku blanket still doesn’t count!) which are the Urban Vest, Monkeys and Branching Out. I’m keen to knit Clapotis, so hopefully that will give me the impetus to finish Branching Out!

Woolly Weekend!

Warning: VERY picture heavy post...

This weekend we went to the Natural Dye Studio, in Suffolk (not Sussex, my geography sucks!) which is less than 2 hours from OH's folks' place.

We knit, we saw dyeing be done, I got to talk to Fyberspates' Jen (Rav Link), briefly.

While there I was able to work on the monkey sock Here it is later that day, ready for the next one to cast on. The pattern is so nice and the fit is much better on my foot than the Jaywalkers are. Overall, it's rating highly, but I do seem to need to concentrate a bit. Anyway, at the NDS we watched dye being done Yarn being dried in the sun And knitters (they're all in the studio watching the dye demo. OH takes pictures of things not people.) And I bought scrummy yarn!

From NDS:
Chi for OH socks: BFL for me: BFL that will be a clapotis
As well as some Fyberspates Scrumptious (I don't know what it will be yet)


And some undyed BFL from Bluefaced.com
Gosh! And as if that's not enough, I got around to photographing (and wearing again, though not much due to the heat) the Jaywalkers:
What a great weekend!

SP12 – Q' of the week! (23 June 2008)

What is (are) your favourite place(s) to knit?
Gosh, that’s tough. I guess the most social place I knit is in a local pub every other Tuesday with the York Stitch n Bitch. There are usually a handful of us there, and the pub we go to (Brigantes) serve lovely fruit beer!
Otherwise, I like to knit in front of the TV, or in bed! I knit anywhere that I’m comfortable really.
If the weather was better I would like to sit outside in the sun to do some knitting too.

What supplies (besides yarn & needles) make the setting perfect for knitting?
I like to have a cup of tea, though if I get engrossed I end up with a cold cup of tea! Generally I have a nice blanket (sorry – not one I’ve knit, yet!) and something mindless on telly so I can concentrate enough on the knitting. I have the box-set of Sharpe which OH bought me for Christmas that I’m working through, but anything which can be “watched” without actually having to watch is good. On a warm day I might replace the tea with a gin-and-tonic, but only the one!


So, more knitting news, I’ve been continuing the monkey sock. I’m part way through turning the heel now. I still love the yarn and the pattern! I have been writing down ideas for another self-designed sock pattern, but I don’t know when I’ll have time to knit it, or what yarn I will use. Perhaps when I have a go at the Kool Aid dying I will use some of that. Before I do that I want a niddy noddy though. And I probably need to clean the kitchen.

I have also finished the back of the Urban Vest. Well, the stitches are on hold as it calls for the three needle bind off. Also, it has me cast off the neck part and then pick up stitches for the collar. This seems silly to me, so I’m leaving them live like I did on manly. I think it will be fine (though I don’t think I can do that around the V at the front, which would be easier, wouldn’t it? Sadly, some of it is vertical – no stitches to leave live) though I am playing with the idea of not using casting off as my method of decrease at the V. I think that the pattern calls for me to cast off one stitch at the v edge every so many rows. I was wondering whether it might look nicer if, once I’ve divided for the neck, I simply decreased with a left leaning decrease on the left side of the V and a right leaning decrease on the right side (as you look at it). That way I could slip stitches along the neckline for picking up, which might be neater. Also, then I can decrease on the same rows either side of the neck.

I’m off to the gym tonight. I’m feeling pretty good about the gym-going at the moment. I have accepted the fact that I’m not going to get any lighter if I’m building muscle. I am instead measuring myself with my tape measure. Before I began at the gym I wrote down in a notebook my hip, waist and bust measurements. Each time I complete one of the phases I will write down the new measurements. As I’m not making it to the gym 3 times a week (I think we average about 5 times a fortnight, which isn’t bad) that’s not too often to get measured. I do think that I’m still eating too much, and too much rubbish too. I tend to have a chocolate bar or crisps which I think is my main downfall. I have weetabix in a morning with a good helping of fresh fruit at the moment (strawberries, raspberries, now blueberries and blackcurrants, all from the UK!) and I have sandwiches at lunchtime (two rounds of seed-crammed bread, usually meat, often salad) and we have reasonable sized dinners. Either my idea of a reasonable dinner is actually unreasonable or there’s something funny going on.

What a Weekend! (Knitting)

I got plenty of knitting done. I’ve decreased for the arm holes on the urban vest, so I’m over half way through the back (or 25% of the whole thing, though there is collar and cuffs to do).
I did have a bit of a disaster last night. While listening to Lime ‘n’ Violet I was working on branching out. This, it appears, was a mistake. I had to rip back to the previous lifeline (17 rows) because I dropped a stitch, or missed a yarn over, or something and I couldn’t see what it was or how to fix it. I know it would bother me and I want this to be a scarf I can wear. So back to row 80 I went. On the up-side, I’ve been putting lifelines in, so I didn’t have to start again (that would have been heartbreaking, and would have truly mangled the yarn).
It did make me wonder about lifelines on socks... but no, that’s silly.
Speaking of socks, Monkey socks are great! They’re not quite as easy to learn the pattern for as Jaywalker (Rav Link) were, but my they’re pretty! I think that the yarn I have helps, it’s not very striped, more blended, so the stripes aren’t killing the lace pattern. I might get some more of this for my next Ankh Socks, because I think the pattern would show up much better.
Britknitter asked in the comments about how these Monkey socks compare to Jaywalker (Rav Link). So, here we go.

.	Jaywalker	Monkey
Pattern Speed	Really fast, only knit stitches so no faffing about. Lots of stitches though due to the tightness of the fabric. 9/10	Fast also, some purling slows it down a bit but there aren’t many stitches in a round so it’s quicker that way 8/10
Pattern Beauty	I love the zig-zag of the Jaywalker, and you can see it emerge within a few rows. 8/10	the lacy arch pattern is pretty, but it’s hard not to ladder on the purl sections as they’re at the ends of the needles. 8/10
Likelihood of knitting them again	Almost certainly, I’d rather do this pattern than vanilla socks any day. 90%	Possible, it depends on the fit once they’re done. I’ll update you once I have one knit 50%
Comfort and Fit	A bit tight round the heel when pulling on, but then fine. Nice and snug. Does leave silly lines on your feet if you wear tight shoes! 8/10	pending!

I’m not sure if there are any other factors which wouldn’t also be down to my choice of yarn type and colour. The Opal that I used for the Jaywalker (Rav Link) isn’t the most distinct stripe, so perhaps a more solid stripe would be better. As with my other Opal, they were a bit rough for the first wear, we’ll see what they’re like when washed. The NDS alpaca/merino is soft and fluffy; the socks will feel very different and will likely not wear as well. They’re hand wash only too where the opal can be slung in the washer and then dried flat. So, until I’ve finished the Monkeys (when I will update this table with the new standings) I am not sure, but I am enjoying the pattern and the yarn.

What a Weekend! (Rant)

RANT BEGINS So, on Saturday we planned to go to the Designer Outlet to hunt for some new suitcases. The old ones didn’t really cope with the journey to Florida last summer and we didn’t think they would make it to France on Ryanair. So, the plan was to get up early and go see what the outlet had to offer.
After a quick breakfast, wash and dressed, we went out to the car. OH unlocked his door and it appeared the central locking wasn’t working. How odd. So we figured, it’s an old car, the central locking could have failed – not to worry, right? Wrong. The car wouldn’t start. To make matters worse, we just ended our old insurance with homestart inluded and the new policy we bought didn’t have it. Bother.
Well, we called the RAC about this, and they quoted us £70 to upgrade, including a £20 charge since we were “in an emergency situation”. So we told them to bog off.
We went to the post office to pick up my parcels (yummy yarn! – Rowanspun 4ply in Squirrel, destined to be the Apres Surf Hoodie) and post some stuff. Then we wandered into town to buy one of those battery chargy thingumys.
The thing said we had to charge it for 12 hours, so we went for a walk instead, putting off the shopping til Sunday. Actually, the walk was lovely. I did take my knitting but we didn’t find anywhere quiet to sit down out of the wind.
A night in with a movie (Juno: funny but a bit odd.) later and the thingy was charged. So on Sunday morning, bright and early (ish) we tried the booster thingy. Nope. Still no good. “Fine!” says I to whoever is listening. We called the RAC again. This time they quoted us only £45 for the additional cover. (If they’d said that on Saturday we’d probably have taken it then!) So we upgraded and called out the man.
The RAC man came, and as always was very nice. He started the car, and told us that although he had a battery Kwik Fit would be cheaper, oh and we did need a new battery. So, we drove off to Kwik Fit. Now, the advert used to say “You can’t get quicker than a Kwik Fit fitter” and by Jove, they’re right! I only had time to do two rows on the Monkey socks before they’d fitted the new battery. They weren’t actually cheaper, but when we told the man what the RAC man hat said, he knocked us a fiver off. Not much, but goodwill. I liked that.

So, then finally we got to go shopping.!

We didn’t find any luggage at the Outlet though. I did buy two new shirts, a frock and some shorts for £15 in the next sale (woo) and some new jogging bottoms for the gym. The frock needs a little adjustment, since it has pockets in (why?) which ruin the silhouette of my already large enough hips. I might think about taking out the darts too – I’ll post some pics of the process later as it happens, if I manage to charge the camera.

We finally went to BHS at Monks Cross to pick up some cases. There we found some reduced luggage, £15 per case. Purple. I don’t believe that black luggage is ever a good idea, but the purple should stand out enough. And they’re lightweight, which is important when we have a baggage limit as small as it is on Ryanair.

I looked for a strapless, or convertible strapless bra for my size. Not a sausage. It’s like thin people can’t have boobs or something. I mean, even a DD+ isn’t that big on a back size of 32 or smaller, so why so hard to find? I can tell you why so many women in the UK are wearing the wrong sized bra – because it’s easier than finding the right size! I used to wear a 34C, and they are everywhere, but when I got measured and re-sized to a 32DD (or 32E, depending on brand and shape), well at first I didn’t believe it, but the right size is so much more comfortable and also allows me not to have chronic back ache! So, I can not buy bras from New Look, Next, or really many high street stores. I can buy from M&S and La Senza, but neither of these have strapless bras in a DD or above anyway. So I’m going to have to buy online to get the scaffolding for strapless tops! How irritating.
RANT ENDS

Yey-walkers.

Woo! The Jaywalkers are finished and on my feet. No, I haven’t taken a photo yet. I finished grafting the toe at about 10:30pm. I’ll photograph them when I’ve washed and re-blocked them, and we hopefully have some vaguely pleasant weather rather than all this rain. They are, as with all handknit socks, so comfortable and warm, but not sweaty. And the pattern is so fantastic! I love them!

So, that means I’m casting on some more socks today. Yes indeed. I have the pattern, yarn and needles required to cast on the monkey socks with the Natural Dye Studio yarn originally from the SP11 swap and my lovely upstream from that round Crafty Drama Queen!

So, I’ll let you know if I love that pattern as much as the Jaywalker one.

OH is wearing the sweater to work today, and his socks from before. I feel loved as a knitter.

I bought some yarn online, but it hasn’t come yet. I’ve bought the yarn for the Apres Surf Hoodie (from the Summer Interweave Knits) – not the recommended yarn, but some Rowanspun 4ply in “Squirrel” (soft grey). I hope it’s nice. Then I really must stop buying yarn for myself, I have three jumpers’ worth!

SP12 – Q' of the week! (w/c 14th July 2008)

What is your favourite type of project to take along on holiday/vacation?
I’ve only really been on one proper holiday since I started knitting. The whole family (my parents, sister and her fella, me and my OH) went to Florida. I took a sock with me then. It didn’t get knitted on much. When OH and I went to Bruges I took a sock too, which didn’t get knitted on much – do you see a theme?
Anyway, I think I would always take something small enough that it’s not in the way in case I am just too busy to knit. I’m pretty frugal with my packing, so I can’t imagine ever taking more than I need – if anything I’d run out. Socks are great in so many ways, they’re portable (I have one in my work bag for lunchtimes, or on the bus between sites) and even if there’s a pattern to follow it usually fits on a sheet of A4 and can be stuck in a bag. I use the doody bag that I got in a previous swap for sock projects. the only thing that worries me is that my needles might get broken!
We’re going to France in August, so I’ll be taking whatever sock I am working on at that point. I was thinking about taking Clapotis too, (I put it in babelfish and it told me that Clapotis is Lapping in French, how interesting!) But I don’t know if I have enough yarn of the appropriate weight! (Actually, I do know. and I don’t have enough.) I could make a thinner version with the “Greek wool” (Remember the legwarmers? I frogged them.) which I have around 600m of.
In any case, I’ll have to put any knitting I have in my case, as we’re not allowed knitting needles on planes (I might turn all Buffy-but-evil with the 20mm wooden ones, clearly) so that means that I’ll have to take an alternative. Crochet! I don’t know what I will crochet, or with what. I only have a couple of plastic crochet hooks (the metal ones are also banned) so I’m a bit limited there. Ho hum.
If you have any good ideas about patterns that can be crocheted in short flights (about 3 hours) and don’t require oodles of yarn… let me know? :)

Sweater Update

Yes, the Manly Sweater is now completed.
So, I'm going to begin the Urban Vest. Wish me luck.

What a Day!

Today has been fantastic; we went to the Great Yorkshire Show…but more about that later.
Because, on the way home, I picked up a parcel. And that parcel was from my secret pal!

And what was in that parcel? Well, let me tell you.

If you look in this picture you will see (starting top left, moving around clockwise)
Some Dairy Milk melts. Yummy! OH and I have both had one of these already and they’re lovely!
Two balls of Rowan Kidsilk Night. That’s the one with the sparkly bits in!
A lovely card with socks on, and some handmade (I think) stitch markers, including one with a fish on!
Two balls of Rowan Damask in a delightful pink colour (woo, love pink!)
Some top, which my pal tells me that s/he uses for wet felting, but that s/he thinks can be spun. The colours are again fantastic!
And a drinks coaster about being grown up, which is hilarious!

Wow, I feel so spoiled! Thank you so much secret pal, whoever you may be, I will really enjoy all of these things!

-o0o-

Now, moving on to the Great Yorkshire Show.

For more pictures, check out my Flickr, by clicking on the image!
It was such a fun day! We saw sheep, cows, pigs, chickens, alpaca, tractors, crafts, cheeses, flowers, food and the top of the Queen’s Landrover!
My favourite part was the alpaca.

I bought a ball of alpaca double knit from Toft Alpaca who offer a range of Alpaca goodies on their website – go check it out!
I also, while petting the Alpaca, was encouraged by OH to go see what they were selling on the British Alpaca stand. They had bags of fleece, and encouraged by OH, I picked one up. It’s from a local Alpaca herd in Kirkbymoorside. There’s 600g here and it was £10. I think that’s good, but I confess that I don’t know. And so now I need some carders, as this is uncarded, unwashed fleece. Whoops!

SP12 Question of the Week - w/c 7th July

Where is your favorite place to go for vacation/holiday?
I love holidays! I don't mind where I go as long as I have good company! I do prefer to go somewhere warm though, I am a beach-bum at heart.
While I can spend an entire week sitting on the beach, even I concede that it's nice to do something while on holiday, so I also like there to be something cultured to do, visiting ruins or museums, watching shows or even just browsing the shops.

Where is one place you’d like to go?
One place? I have to pick one?
I can't do that, I'm afraid. However, I can give you my top 3:

1. Egypt - I would love to see the pyramids. I don't know much about Egyptology and the study of the pyramids and the mummies, but it looks and sounds so interesting.
2. Japan - I briefly studied Japanese during my A levels (not as a full A level mind) and I found the whole culture fascinating. Also, I love Japanese food (well, the sort we get in England at least) so I would have a great time trying lots of different food! And, I know how to say: Konnichiwa, watashiwa Tsuki des, samurai dewa arimassen (which means "Hello, I'm Tsuki, I am not a samurai)
3. California, the Grand Canyon, Nevada, Area 51... I could do it all in one holiday, surely?

A New Design, and stuff

Yes, I’ve been designing something new. This one is a gift for my secret pal. If she reads my blog or has figured out who I am then the surprise may be spoiled! So, just in case I will not be posting any pictures about it until after the parcel is received.

So, here’s a little teaser:
It’s lace, it’s small, it’s useful for protecting stash.


I’m quite pleased with it actually, and it gave me a chance to try out some lace which is lace on both sides. You know, where you knit the pattern on the knit rows and on the purl rows. So there was no “purl back” there. Of course, I did also get the dubious pleasure of performing p2togtbl (that’s purl-two-together-through-the-back-loops – or for you non knitters, an evil stitch) which I have decided is in fact the devil’s stitch. I have heard of patterns calling for p3togtbl, and those – well those should be avoided if you’re as easily annoyed as I am.

In other craft news (sorry non craft people!) I have been spinning a little of the pink from the Texere parcel. I’m thinking of spinning the whole 50g and plying it with itself, then spinning 50g of the black to ply with itself, then spinning 25g of each to ply together, then spinning the other 25g of each in an experimental sequence which when plied should be some bits of pink-pink, some pink-black and some black-black. Who knows if it will work, or what it will look like, or what on earth I’ll use it for! I think that my spinning is getting more consistent with every attempt though; this lot is still slubby in places, but not as bad as my first attempt! The hardest thing is knowing how much twist to put in.
I have also made much progress on Manly. I’m about half-way through the final sleeve. Once that is done I will pick up for the neck band. That’s only six rows, which I hope to knit on a circular needle, if I have one the right size… Finally, I will block the pieces (Woo for the craft desk) and then seam them (eek). I will probably use a tutorial of some sort, and perhaps even practice on something. That said, I need to seam the aforementioned small thingy, so perhaps that can be a bit of a practice go. It’s smaller, so less of a challenge/annoyance to rip back the seaming.

"I'm a Designer" and "Shopping Spree!"

I’m officially listed as a designer on Ravelry now. Woo! Better get designing!

My Ankh Socks are available as a Rav download!
I’m looking forwards to completing the rest of the hat I’ve been working on (With the cables and the bobbles) not that it’s really hat weather at the moment. Not that sort of hat anyway.
I’m going to be designing some more socks. I’ve got some lovely yarn and an idea about [deleted to keep it a surprise]… and intarsia. Dum-dum-duuuuh.

So, I’ve been on a bit of a shopping spree. There was a free postage weekend at Texere so I thought I’d have a look and see what they had. I ordered around 800g of stuff, plus a ball winder. The stuff was 200g of top for spinning and 600g of yarn!

There’s two 50g bags of black top for spinning, and two of pink. I think I might do some “barber pole” plying with some of that. I’m experimenting basically.
I also have one 50g ball each of charcoal and pink alpaca sock wool. Yum, yum, yum! It’s so soft, so warm! I love it. that’s the stuff I’m planning the pattern I mentioned above with. It’s going to be my first intarsia (maybe). I just hope I have enough yarn.
I also have a 400g cone of un-dyed 4ply sock yarn. (I didn’t get the lambs’ wool, because I thought it would be a waste for my first dyeing attempts.) I’ve been Karma Swapped some Kool-Aid by the blogless Bea, so this cone will be waiting until that arrives from America. Perhaps I’ll find someone selling niddy-noddys at the Yorkshire Show next week.
Last, but not least, I bought two balls of Noro Kureyon. In a red-purple-blue-ish colour. It’s lovely, though I don’t know what I am going to make with it yet. I’m thinking about one of the striped scarves I’ve seen, where you take your two balls of Noro and you begin at one end of one ball and the other end of the other ball (the idea being that the stripe sequence is reversed on one ball) and then do something with two rows of one and then two rows of the other. Or perhaps I’ll do some of that complicated looking intarsia where you have a plain colour as the background and use the Noro as the contrasting colour. I guess I’ll just stash it for now while I decide :-)
I also bought some more sock yarn (which OH was condescending about) from Tofutsies, the one with chitin in. chitin is crab shells, I gather. It’s meant to be hard wearing. I got that at the same time as some other stuff for my Secret Pal. I have some more bits I want to get, but then the first package will be ready to go.

I do like the secret swaps. The Sox swap has been entertaining and it’s nice to know who is sending you stuff, but it’s also fun to try to work out who on Earth has sent you the fab goodies in a secret swap!

Two Questions of the Week (w/c 30 June 2008)

1) What yarn (that you don’t have/haven’t used) would make your stash “complete”?

At the moment I’d love to have the Louisa Harding yarn to make some of the patterns from the Hummingbird collection, but it isn’t cheap!
I guess that this changes every time I queue a new pattern on Ravelry! A couple of days ago it would have been some proper baby yarn to make some nice baby things for some upcoming babies (not mine).
Last week it would have been some nice aran to make the Brea Bag with.
Before that it would have been Noro sock yarn but I bought some :-)
I guess my stash is complete, in that I look at it and smile, that I can go pet the lace-weight from Violet Green or the sock yarn from The Natural Dye Studio if I need cheering up. I know that I have enough that I could knit for a while without running out, which means there’s enough.
Of course, that wouldn’t stop me buying more!

2) What yarn do you never want to be without?

Sock Yarn. I’m on my fourth pair of socks, my second pair for myself. I love socks, I love knitting socks, I love wearing knitted socks.
Of course, one could get bored only knitting socks, so I wouldn’t want to only knit socks ever again. If I could only have sock yarn then I’d have to knit with it double, treble or even quadruple stranded to make more chunky things.
And if I had to choose specific sock yarn? Oh, I would be torn. As I’ve mentioned above, I love the hand-dyed yarns. But I do love the self-striping yarns too, Opal rocks! Any self striping is good, mind you, but I’ve mostly used Opal. So, don’t make me choose a specific one!
Oh, unless I could be a bit vague with my choice, and say I’d never be without pure wool yarn. (I know it’s not so hardwearing on socks without the man-made content) there’s something homey about a smooshy soft pure wool yarn. I’m knitting Manly in pure wool for OH, and it’s so nice to work with! (I am about a third of the way through the second sleeve)

My first Design!

I've designed my first sock pattern: Ankh Socks. I designed them for the Music With Sox In swap. You can download the pattern here: download now

SP12 – Q' of the week! (w/c 23 June 2008)

What would you consider the perfect amount of stash?

Well, the perfect amount of stash eh?

There should be enough for you to be inspired by it, but not so much that you’re overwhelmed by it.
Ooh Pretty not Oh my God I have more Yarn than I could ever possibly knit!

There should be enough to keep you going for at least three months, in case you lose your job (a bit like savings in the bank)

There should be enough that non-knitters can’t figure out why you need all that yarn but not so much that your OH wonders why you need all that yarn!

There should be enough that you need additional storage for it (otherwise it’s not a stash) but not so much that you find yarn everywhere.

Crafty

All has gone well on the Music with Sox In sock knitting front! I have successfully completed both socks in pattern. I even made some mistakes which I was able to fix. I am so pleased with myself! As I mentioned before, this is the first pattern that I have designed myself. I’m so pleased with how well it has turned out!
So, I plan to wash (they’re in with the wool load – my slippers and OH's socks, 30 degree wash, wool-wash liquid) the socks and block them tonight, then photograph them tomorrow for the pattern pdf I will be making. I’m probably going to make myself a pair too, but as I prefer my socks to be more snug, I will almost certainly adjust the pattern to be either less repeats or smaller needles or something.
And now I can cast on the second Jaywalker! Woo! Though I will probably take the sweater to knit night. It needs to be worked on. (Don’t even mention the other projects I have OTN, there’s only so much time in the day and I am forced to spend 7 hours of it in the office where I can’t knit because I am meant to be working.)

We’re thinking about getting a craft worktable to put in the second bedroom. It will mean getting rid of the sofabed that my parents gave to us, but since everyone refuses to sleep on it I don’t see that as such a hardship! We’ve seen some nice tables in Ikea (oh no!) which are adjustable in height. One of the main problems I have with using the sewing machine on the table is that it’s a bit low and so it makes my back ache. Other problems with using the sewing machine on the dining table are:

• The table is oval, not good for square material cutting
• We’d like to eat at the table, not easy when there’s a bunch of sewing stuff on there
• Last time I ironed things on the dining table (don’t ask), I marked it (boo) and so now we need to polish it
• When the dining room is in the “tidy and not in use” state, we fold the table down, so the sewing machine has to go away, so then it’s a rigmarole getting it out, setting it up, getting settled again
• Accompanying the sewing machine is:
  1. A sewing box
  2. Book(s) on sewing
  3. A dressmaker’s dummy
  All of which could go into the second bedroom
• The iron is upstairs (if you sew, you’ll understand)

So, we’re probably going to go to Ikea to buy this table set up. It’s not that expensive and it really does look useful. Maybe if I do that I will actually finish making all of the curtains we’re meant to have! (I’ve only managed the cream open-and-closeable curtains, the linings, nets and brown decorative curtains are all still waiting to be sewn. Shocking. And it shouldn’t take long, they are only rectangles! Grr.)

But first we have to buy a new print-head for our printer which is going to cost more than some printers cost. Darnit. I guess it is five years old though, which is old for a printer.

A productive weekend

I have had a productive weekend.

On Friday we went to see the York Rising Stars’ production of Wyrd Sisters by Terry Pratchett. It was pretty good, and I was entertained. Even OH liked it and he hadn’t read any of Pterry’s books.

During Saturday we tidied up so that we could have people round on Saturday evening for a song-filled evening playing on Singstar. Which is way more fun than it should be, and we should have switched to guitar hero at some point. I blame Lint for winning too often. OH and I have our work cut out to re-win some of those high scores! Haha!

I felt rubbish on Sunday, which is odd because I hadn’t drunk much G&T at all. So I mostly knit the Sock-swap socks. And OH helped me to compile the music to go with it. (It’s the “music with sox in” swap, so requires music and socks)
The socks, well, I have just the toe on sock 2 to complete. I’m so pleased with them! It just goes to show that with the help of a stitchonary and a basic sock pattern anyone can design a sock! I intend to knit another pair of the same pattern for myself, perhaps after I finish the jaywalkers, as long as I don’t get too way-laid with other things (like the new design of socks I’ve been scheming about)

In other news, I have set myself a challenge. The challenge is to lose 1lb per week until we go on holiday in August. That should take me back under 11st, which would be nice. I know, I know, if I put on muscle it weighs more than fat but takes up less space. Trouble is, I am meant to be getting rid of the fat first! Ho hum. So, I think I’m about at the end of the first stage of the weight-lifting program from the book that OH got me. I have one week of workout 2 left to do. Then I need to email my instructor with the new program. I’ve been toying with the idea of signing up for personal training, but I am not sure whether it will help or not, and it’s not cheap!
Still, a good part of this is not to do with the gym, but requires me to eat more sensibly. Not eating cake (whoops) and chocolate so much. We do have some nice beef, which technically isn’t the leanest meat in the world. Sod that though, I like beef. I’ll just have smaller portions! I’ve been good today though, it’s 16:14 and I have only had the muffin I brought to work with me (I baked at the weekend for the party) and my sandwiches. I have had two cups of tea and about 100ml of water (don’t even go there, I drink enough water for me)

Well, that’s all folks. See you again soon.

SP12 – Q' of the week! (w/c 16 June 2008)

As a kid, what did you look forward to most about summer vacation/break/holiday?
I don’t really remember the holidays as a young child. I think I probably missed my friends and the learning which I enjoyed.
As a teenager, though, things were different. I didn’t really fit in at school, so the holidays were a relief for me. I didn’t have to listen to the taunts about my looks (or lack of them), my ten-to-two feet and my knock-knees, my big bum and small boobs, or my lack of fashion sense (my jeans were never Lee or Levis, my jogging bottoms were never Adidas or Nike, my trainers were rarely even Gola*) All school based activities were an opportunity for me to be mocked**
So the relief from the teasing and taunting, the chance for me to once again be secure in myself.
Also, I looked forwards to (and still do) not having to get out of bed so early! As a teenager I would regularly sleep in until noon or later. This was partly because I was tired, partly because there was nothing to do and partly because I then stayed up until 2am or some silly time!

* Actually, the whole brand label thing was me trying to make a statement. Some of my friends would turn up entirely clad in Adidas or Kappa as though it made them cool, I refused to wear any of the trendy brands, the closest I came was some Umbro trousers with the poppers down the side, and that was because the ones from the cheap shops wore through too quickly!
I still try to stick to my “no brand names” policy, but it’s more complicated these days. If I think that you get what you pay for then I don’t mind paying a bit more, but I will not pay silly money (£40/$80) for a t-shirt just because it says “Adidas” on it.

**Actually, I guess almost everyone is either mocked, or else they have to conform. Conforming isn’t something I do easily. Okay, so I’ve done the “middle England” lifestyle of school, college, university, proper job but I’ve done those things with pink hair, too-short skirts, hobnail boots and sleeping through class. Rebel without a cause?

Lots to say...

Since I have so much to write about today, I’ve split this post into a few subheadings. Feel free to skim through to the bits that might interest you, and skip over the bits that you find dull.

Thank you everyone who left comments about Aston, despite his small size he is much missed.

The weekend just gone
At the weekend we went down to Cambridgeshire to “Livestock” which is a mini-festival that one of OH’s friend’s family put on. There is live music, barbeque and optional camping.
Last year I drank an entire bottle of pink wine and was then quite grumpy. This year I pre-mixed some gin and tonic instead, and was much more sensible. I was still cold by the end of the evening, but nowhere near as grumpy! The music was okay, I’m not really into live bands to be honest. The company was pretty good though, OH’s brothers both chatted to me, as did several of his friends. That was nice! I do quite like most of OH’s friends, which is good.
I always find it quite surprising when people in general are still in touch with lots of their old friends from school, university or whatever. Without wanting to be mean, I’m not really bothered whether I see my old school friends again (with one or two notable exceptions, you know who you are), I can see whether they have jobs, houses, babies, husbands etc on facebook without actually having to talk to them! But lets not get started on facebook…

Fantastic Beef
While at the farm where “Livestock” was happening, I was informed that we could buy some nice beef from said farm. So we headed back the next day to Barton Ley Farm to pick up some beef. We got several joints and some steaks, some stewing beef and some mince (yum to all!). Last night we tried some of the rump steaks we had selected, and mine was the best steak I have ever had, ever. It was big, juicy, tasty and the sliver of fat around the edge was soooo flavourful! If I was asked to choose only one meat to ever eat again, it would be beef from this farm.
So, if you’re in the Cambridge area and need some beef for the freezer, call by Barton Ley and get some beef. You will not regret it!

CSI Swap Package
Remember the CSI Package that went to Athens, Greece? Well, it arrived in Athens, Alabama! Woo! I’m so glad that it got there, now I can stop worrying about it and get on with my other swaps!
Oh, and I can’t claim back the cost of the original postage because I don’t have a receipt to prove I posted it. Poo.

Becoming a designer
I have designed some socks for my Discworld “Music with Sox in” swap. I’m knitting the second one now, and then I’m going to publish the pattern for the socks on My Knitting Blog as a free pattern. I haven’t decided whether I’ll just write it up or whether I’ll make it a downloadable PDF (or whether I can do that on blogger) but it will also be available on Ravelry for those of you who want it and can get there.
I will not be publishing it until my swap partner has received the parcel though, as I want the socks to be a surprise for her. If I’m feeling really exciteable I might knit them again in a different colourway for myself, then I can see how adaptable they are (they’re made for UK size 7 medium feet, hopefully!)
If all goes well, I intend to design more patterns. I might then start submitting some to Knitty or other online knitting magazines. I don’t know what the rights for such patterns and designers are, but it’s something I’ll look into.
And hopefully the hat will be finished and up soon/eventually!

SP12
SP12 continues. I’m beginning my scheming for the first parcel. I have an idea for what to send, but I need to track down appropriate items in appropriate colours at appropriate prices!
I have no idea who my upstream is, which is good, though I haven’t done much digging to try to find them. I’ve still managed to resist checking my blogger stats, but I’ve come close once or twice!

Well, that’s all for today I think.

SP12 – Q' of the week! (13 June 2008)

What is your favourite summertime drink??

What do I like to drink in the summer? Well now, that all depends on what I’m doing! If we’re talking a nice refreshing drink while I’m sunbathing in the garden then it would have to be real lemonade - you know, the kind that is pale yellow and not fizzy. Yum.
If I’m relaxing in a pub garden with some friends on a warm summer evening then I’d probably opt for a gin and tonic (slim line, no ice) which is summer in a glass!
When I am on holiday I like to drink cocktails, so I’d have a tequila sunrise or margarita (anything with tequila in!!)
However, if it’s your typical British summer, I would probably want to cosy down with a nice cup of tea preferably Yorkshire Tea (you can get two cups from one bag, you know) or some nice Earl Grey.

Sad News

Many of you who read this blog will know that about two years ago (on July 17th 2006), OH and I bought two Dwarf Russian Hamsters who we named Aston and Martin.
Almost a year ago, after a brief illness, Martin sadly passed away.
Last night, when we came back from the gym, Aston was laying in his house very quietly. He responded to my voice, but only in the slightest of movements. We left him alone in peace, and as we suspected would be the case, he died overnight.

As you can imagine, OH and I are quite sad. But Aston was around 2 years old (which is the life expectancy for Dwarf Russian Hamsters).

As with when Martin died, I’d like to share some of my favourite pictures of Aston with you.
Image Heavy Post from this point!

Here he is not long after we got him with his brother Martin (Aston is the dark one) This is one of my favourites, he’s so inquisitive! He loved to burrow in the sawdust And he was always on the lookout for food! We’ll miss him.

Shh, it's a secret

Well, SP12 has started (Well, officially it begins on the 15th). The chatter, on Rav and on some blogs, is already going. Brilliant!
My hostess seems great; we’ve already had a lot of contact from her. I’ve had the cutest e-card from my upstream with some cute doggies on. (How did s/he know to avoid cats?) I’ve also been trying to behave myself and not go hunting for someone who could be my pal. I have even decided not to check my blogger stats because there might be something there that gives him/her away. Oh, okay, I’ll probably look. But not yet.
I’ve been fascinated by the information I have found on my spoilee. S/he has good taste, which is cool but makes it all the more daunting for me. I’ve also had an email back from him/her (de-gender-ised in case s/he is reading! If you are, you’re a cheeky so-and-so)

I have a couple of ideas about how to keep secret for longer. We’ll see how they work out.

In other news………actually there is no other news. Life is just happening at the moment. I’ve got a bunch of books on spinning and business (not linked) on order, and I’m scouting out a couple of sewing books I am interested in. I still have some money off at WHSmith so I will have to check there before I buy elsewhere.
No, we are going to “Livestock” again this year. Hopefully I’ll get less drunk than last year (I drank a whole bottle of pink wine and then several cups of random cider. I was grumpy) and hopefully I’ll have my legwarmers ready by then, even if I don’t have any more of an outfit! (eek)

Vanity

Thinking about a hair cut again.
I know, it’s not that long since I had it re-styled, but to be honest I am not getting on with it. If I don’t have at least 20 minutes to dry it in a morning then it goes all over the shop. It curls in silly directions; it sticks out, if I tuck it behind my ears it still sticks out. So I clip it back, in which case I might as well not have it this long! The fringe is a waste of time because I just brush it off to the side. I do like having enough hair to curl it, or whatever, but if I am honest I really don’t do that sort of thing often enough to merit it! I always prefer it when it’s short.

I look back through the pictures I have of me, right from the blonde curls I had on my holiday in Spain in 1999 (I look very odd then!) to the long black hair I have in my picture with PTerry. and I always think that I prefer the pictures where I have shorter hair. I do have more pictures where my hair is short, but – well, I prefer those.

Because Flickr and Blogger aren’t talking, there’s no more pics – grr.

So, I guess when you think about it, I’ve always had short hair! Part of the reasoning is that I really can’t be bothered with ages of styling, I like to be able to get out of the shower, scrub my hair with a towel, perhaps comb it and then leave the house! Once it gets past a couple of inches long it needs a much longer routine! Dull! And, short hair doesn’t go flat, it doesn’t matter if I dye it a silly colour because it will not be that way for long.
Perhaps I should take in the picture of when I liked it so that I can show them what to do, because finding the style in a magazine is like finding rocking horse poo.

So Much Coolness!

On Saturday we made a trip to the Farmer’s Cart, one of the local Farm Shops. It’s my favourite of the two we go to, and we had extra reason to go because they were shearing the sheep there this weekend. The weather was pleasant and we stayed for lunch (I had one of the best carrot and coriander soups I have had ever!) and dessert, and then we did some shopping too. We bought some lovely local free range chicken, some pork loin and some minced beef. Easily enough for the week!
We also got to see the guinea pigs and rabbits, the piglets (aww), goats, sheep and the pony. I think the donkey that made the nasty mark on my other jeans was also there, but he wasn’t being friendly.
Ans we had a go on a tombola. OH and I both got a winner, some bucks fizz and a painting of York Minster from on the wall outside where I work!

The trip to see the sheep shearing inspired me, and I actually got out my “learn to spin” kit from Nancy’s Knit-nacks. It came with a little bit of fibre, a drop spindle and an instructional DVD.
First I tried “worsted” spinning. Then I tried “woollen” spinning. I got on better with the second way, but that could be because I had already done some spinning. In any case, I now have 4.3 yards of what could be described as Yarn Barf (or “Designer yarn”), plus a further 8.6 yards of what is almost decent yarn. (and a bit more on the spindle still)
And I’m hooked.
Completely, I spent most of Sunday (once I had spun all the fibre I had) searching the internet for online suppliers of not only fibre, but fleece and even spinning wheels. I think I will hang fire on the wheel until I get to grips with the spindle properly. Then I’ll save up and buy one of the cheaper wheels (I quite like the Ashford Kiwi, and it’s not the most expensive!).
Of course, that means I’m researching fibre and looking for good books (Spin to Knit has been recommended so far, I’m considering that!)
I also have been knitting some legwarmers (which seem to have warded off the bad weather so far). I’m using the random Greek wool that I used for the Evening Star shrug (all that time ago!) because I still have loads. It’s knitting up really nicely! It’s a 50% wool/acrylic mix, which I don’t usually go for – I prefer to get a higher wool percentage, and possibly superwash. However, this is soft and smooth and pretty! I don’t know how it washes yet (I haven’t dared wash the shrug!!) but with a fairly high man-made-fibre content, it should be fine.

Secret Pal 12 has begun! I am quite excited about it! I had lots of fun in SP11, and I hope that this round is as much fun. Which reminds me – I am planning on donating something for one of the contests, I just have to decide what, and get it in the post!!

Dead giveaway for my CSI Swap Pal

So, I found out what happened to my CSI Pal’s parcel! Yey!
My CSI pal lives in Athens, Alabama. That’s in the USA.
The parcel was sent to Athens, Greece.
It clearly says on it Alabama, and some idiot has crossed it out, circled Athens and then it went to Greece.
It’s now some well travelled stuff!

How irritating.

So, for any of you sending packages to the United States where the town/city also has an address in Europe, putting the state and zip code is not enough - you will also need to put the country. I thought it was obvious that Alabama was in America, but clearly it is not.
So, if you need to send packages to Athens Alabama (not Greece), Birmingham Massachusetts (not West Midlands), Manchester New Hampshire (not Lancashire), anywhere in Georgia USA (rather than the ex-Soviet state), and no doubt thousands more, make sure that you write, in MASSIVE letters that you’re trying to get the parcel to the USA

Grr.

And, annoyingly, the box has been a bit battered, so I have to buy a new box.

UPDATE: I’ve posted the parcel in a nice new box, and I’m off back to see the man at the Royal Mail about getting a refund for the first one, tonight…

Oh No!

It looks like my CSI swap parcel may not have made it to the recipient. I posted it on the 12th May – so it’s been three weeks and two days. It is going to the USA – does anyone out there know how long it takes for parcels to get from the UK to the USA normally? Is over three weeks longer than usual? I feel so bad, I put so many nice things in the parcel, it would be such a shame for it not to arrive.
What would you do if you sent a parcel which got lost in the post? Would you make a new parcel?

I’ll keep hoping for a little while longer – my OH has ordered things from Ebay in the US and it’s taken four weeks or more to get those sometimes. I’m still waiting for an Ebay purchase I made (though only about a week ago now) which is from the US. My first international purchase!

I will have to consider getting some kind of tracking or insurance for my SP parcels when that begins, though I don’t know yet whether my pal(s) will be in the country or not.

So, please all cross your fingers that my CSI pal gets his parcel, and I’ll keep my fingers crossed too!

Jaywalking and a Swap…

Remember a while ago I may have posted about being in a CSI Swap? Well about a week ago my package came and I’ve been a bit busy (see previous post) so, here’s my swap package! Thanks Cnyttan!

Also, I’ve half-finished my Jaywalkers But I’ve had to move on to my swap socks for my “Music with Sox in” partner, otherwise they might not get done!

Not dead, just busy.

OH’s parents were down for the bank holiday.
We went to Harrogate,
Knaresborough,
put up a gate,
visited the castle museum in York,
went shopping (at least once),
bought and put up trellis,
painted said trellis,
went to a sheep shearing demonstration
and saw lots of young birds.

Then this weekend we said goodbye to the Welshman,
I worked on Saturday (boo)
and we painted the gate,
then yesterday we did shopping, went to the gym and went to watch Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull