So where were we?

I know, I know! I entice you all with a taster of the holidays and then leave you dangling! Shouldn't be allowed!

Actually, although I had a fantastic holiday and a well needed rest, I did get a bit down on my return. I guess it's not uncommon that when you do something so different, normal life seems a little flat in comparison. I've been busy, not sleeping well and had a temporary crimp in my knitting mojo finishing the 5th pair of Sock Madness socks so I focussed on other things. I've spent waaay too many hours trawling ravelry for the ultimate pattern for the perfect yarn, began prepping fleece towards next month's Tour De Fleece and on Friday this week, spent the day photographing and uploading a teensy amount of my stash to Ravelry so I can correlate it with patterns and work out a sensible destashing schedule.

I haven't really had the time or the heart to blog up to this point so for that I apologise but it does take time to resize and rearrange photographs as well as write a post. As I can only juggle so much in my life, there may be more gaps in the future but rest assured, when I can, I will post!

Anyway, where were we? One day into the mega-holiday and still on the eastern coast at Wicklow. We'd spent the day at Glendalough where we'd seen our first "Rapunzel's tower" (more about the true meaning later) at the monastery setting.

Despite being a magnet for all nationalities, there was room and space for everyone and it was a fantastic site for our first day. But it didn't stop there.....

After Avoca, we hot-footed ourselves back to Wicklow so that we could visit the Gaol that had been recommended by a work colleague of Pete's. Despite arriving one hour before closing, even trying to rush as much as possible, we still took nearly two hours examining the tableaux, exhibits and information inside each cell. It is an experience I would highly recommend to anyone visiting the area as it gave us a whole different perspective on Ireland and its history. To be truthful, it made me realize just how ignorant I was about the Irish "troubles"; how any history lessons I'd had about such could only scrape the surface and I got a taste of the real-life stories involved.


Here's another of the stories, as we traipsed the town for the last time that evening, a park with the inevetable monument for those lost at sea.

There were signs of past conflicts both along the coastline...

...And more history on our doorstep, the Black Castle. This is where England and Ireland differ, a monument like this would be barricaded off and entrance charged but here, as in other things, you were free to scramble over and around the ruins. It actually gave me a better respect for the things we came across, these precious treasures left for all to see.

Then it was back home, footsore and tired to pack up and head on (after a second hearty "full irish" breakfast) to our next destination, a cottage on the south coast where we would stay for the full week.

It was raining pretty solidly throughout the drive and whilst we began by taking the small, narrow coast road, lack of photo opportunities and waterlogged patches drove us back to the bigger, main road. we broke our journey at soggy Waterford.

Grabbing lunch (and cake, get priorities right!), we pottered for an hour or so, had a smoothie then continued on our way. Unfortunately, early in the journey, we realised that the sattelite navigation was not charging so it was out with the map I had bought on the ferry to get us the rest of the way.

On later investigation, we realized that darling hubby, on eating a Kit-Kat had discarded the foil wrapper in the cubby where the cigarette lighter socket was situated and in a twist of fate, managed to squash a layer into the socket when plugging the sat nav. in, thus fusing the socket! Navigation got a little more interesting after that!


We arrived, mostly unscathed at our holiday accommodation which was, surprisingly, exceedingly chilly. We later discovered that, as the central heating was oilfired and fuelled by largish cylinders, occasionally there is an air block in the system when they're changed over weekly and it can stop the timed central heating kicking in and warming up. Luckily, by 5pm when it was next due to come on, we did get heat and start to thaw but before then it was a bit unpleasant. Not like we haven't had colder at home pre-central heating, of course!

Anyway, I got a little over-enthusiastic with the grape (and bopping around to the Eurovision...don't ask!), and ended up a little the worse for wear the next day. We decided that rather than heading out, we'd just explore the area and walk off the worst of it.

There was a leaflet in the cottage about " St. Declan's Way" so we followed the coastal footpath and came upon some more wonderful sights along the way.

There was St. Declan's well, reputed to have healing powers...

And this very Victorian pile was to mark another spring, discovered by someone (I forget who) who found the waters good for healing eye complaints!

In the afternoon, we took the car along the road, discovering, on our way, another source of yarny and knitterly goodness in the form of "Simply Irish"! After a short stop (and spend!), we headed on to Youghal (spelt yawl).

I loved the way the shops generally were little independents, not just clones of the malls we have over here. You were never quite sure what you'd find and inexpensive gifty shops were particularly rare beasts (along with wool shops!) but I was charmed by the colour and character...even if the pubs did look a little intimidating!

We looked around the museum and I gained the perfect baseball cap from the tourist information office along with some lovely suggestions for other places to visit, very helpful she was! Then it was into the local supervalue? (supermarket chain) for supplies and back to base again where the sun heralded our arrival. That was the one thing about this holiday, it rained every day but rarely all day. We'd usually arrive back, a little soggy around the edges from the day to clear skies and sunshine and locals walking along with ice-creams!

Hence we got some sunnier photographs that evening (and don't the days last longer down there?) of the historic site literally across the road from our accommodation....

Yep, there's another Rapunzel's tower, or more specifically a monk's belltower. They're relics of the years of invasions that Ireland had to put up with, even before the English put their oar in! Harking back to the medieval era, the door was set high up so that, on news of the latest marauders, the monks could grab their valuables, mount a ladder to enter and hide safely within. There are arrow slits at various points so that they could defend themselves and return once danger had passed. I still think the brothers Grimm must have heard about them!

This was the site of St. Declans Cathederal, the ruins of which were still standing and this was the shot we would see every time we left the driveway...

Click to embiggen and spot the fab. carving, it's amazing that given the worst of the weather it still survives so clearly!

Then it was back to the cottage which was warm and cosy....

To gaze out of the gable window in the lounge/kitchen at the stunning view...well, it was mostly stunning, it's just this is from when we arrived and it was a very wet day!

And that's where I'll have to leave the holiday for now, but be assured, there's plenty more to come!

In knitting, I finally managed to get a photograph of one of my Finished Objects!

It's the Kimono cardigan from the recent Noro publication - Flowers. And whilst I wasn't going to spend out on Furisode to knit it with, inexpensive Kaleidoscope and a little re-arranging of the pattern still produced a rather pretty sweater, even if the seamline is exactly at bustline (should have been lower!). Unfortunately, it has drawn much attention which though good for the ego, is rather tiresome when they ask for the pattern and it can't be provided so it has been replaced with something else for now.

I'm still not totally in knitting mode but circumstances did force me to complete the back of the next window project...

Knitted in Sirdar Calico, a cotton/acrylic blend, it should be the perfect summer knitting though I'm not terribly fond of knitting in cotton so it's taking a little longer than it should...

I have other projects on the needles right now but that's for another time. Hopefully a little sooner than of late!

Just a Taste....

Well, after a somewhat frantic early week and a (very) full day on Thursday travelling, we arrived mid-evening in Wicklow, our base for two nights and also the source of Wifi access yaay!!

As it's been so long since I last posted plus there's no guarantee I'll get coverage at the next venue in our little itinerary, I'm giving you a wee taster just for starters.

To begin with, a smorgasbord of our packed schedule today...


One of the no-doubt over photographed monuments at Glendalough (thanks Nadine!). It's actually at the site of a monastic settlement back in the 1200's but all it reminds me of is Rapunzel's Tower! Being disorganised, we bypassed the tour/information/leaflets but managed to pick up the essential bits as we went around.

This was one of the essentials ;-)

Hastily snapped as we waited for a group of Danish tourists to move on, they actually did the tour! I'm gambling on a Dale of Norway pattern but I have no easy way of knowing...something to aim for though!

We trekked uphill some to snap some waterfall shots...

(and boy, do my legs feel everry step right now)...On the way back, we discovered St Kevin?'s bed though it doesn't look too comfortable ;-)

Then it was onwards to Rathdrum via Laraigh? where we had tea (him) and scones (fruitless, yaay!) at a homely tea shop (for that read house....). Didn't stop though, we missed the parking and the main drag was very tricky to negotiate.

We did stop at a wool mill along the way too, following signs, I found some yarn to buy as well. Proves the internal yarn radar's still working!

Then it was on to Avoca, home of the fictional Ballykissangel...

And a rather famous pub as well as the Avoca handweavers studio.

We still managed to squeak in a visit to Wicklow Gaol on our return then later on walked out to find both the beach and the black castle but more about them later...sometime..........!

Lost in Transit...(WARNING, PHOTO HEAVY!)

Yeah, I know, it's been a whole month since I last blogged and it hasn't gone unnoticed (you know who you are!) ;-)

Still the weather has gone through a few changes but by now is heading in the right direction with a few natural prozac courtesy of firstly displays of crocus and now varying levels of blossom. I just had to photograph this magnificent Magnolia bush before the wind and weather took it past its best...


Sadly, by this time next year, there's a chance it may be no more. The doctor's surgery where it is planted is up for sale due to a major move to a new puropse-built unit at the local hospital (along with around 4 other practices) and it's unlikely to remain in it's current rambling Victorian format. Still, fingers x'ed someone else is as enamoured as me eh?

Anyway, how to compress a month's blogging into one post, hmm, tricky! Well, at the finish of my last post, I was gearing up to Skip North, but I managed to squeeze in these little beauties before I left...



Unfortunately, it appears I don't have a completed photo (oops!) but I'm sure they'll appear in the fullness of time (after a wash). They were sock blanks which I dyed myself and then knitted a toe-up purlless Monkey pattern to allow me to make the most of the sock's colouring. One day, I'll get around to making those blanks for myself.

Anyway, Skip North, where I managed to take a single photograph on our return from the KCG...

But you'll have to wait for another post for the majority of it as the weekend deserves more than a single photo (and I need to grab all my Skip North goodies!). Suffice to say, yarn and fibrely goodies were purchased and a great time was had by all. I probably got fractionally more sleep than the previous year being in the B+B over the road from the Youth hostel but was not impressed by the ten-mile rat run over very narrow roads both there and back. Thanks Tom Tom!

On my return, I had some extra fibrely goodness waiting for me...

This was the second part of my Spinner's swap parcel from sylvchezplum on Rav. She'd ordered these yummy batts and the lovely alpaca fibre below...

I've had such a lovely range of fibres and colours from this 3-part swap that whilst it was hard to find the time to produce the fibres in return, I've had such wonderful stuff in return.

Still there wasn't much time for relaxation on my return as the Thursday before the Skip North weekend, the first round of Sock Madness began. Whilst I couldn't knit while driving (darn it!), I certainly did on the long coach journeys between locations (though not in the evenings) so returned with my competition socks like this...


A little extra elbow grease on Monday and by 4pm I had finished...


And yes, Floppy really did want in on this particular photo (or was it the patch of sunlight?).

This actually shows them a little better...


Being a wee bit short on the foot, I ripped the toes back and did a longer decrease so by that evening they were really finished!

By Tuesday, the weekend began to catch up to me and I was rather jaded so guess what was waiting for me on my return from knitting group?


I returned home and there was a couriers card through the door, they'd left it with a neighbour. I went round expecting a small packet or parcel and there was a hoofing great box waiting for me! Some time later once I'd figured out the treadle-attatching and oiled and adjusted and oiled and adjusted once again, I had my new wheel!

Not that I've had great swathes of time for it and me to get acquainted but the more I do use it, the more I like it. It has a softer take-in than any other wheel I've had apart from my original Kromski but because of this, it compacts the fibres less as it draws them in and leaves a bouncier, squishier yarn at the end of it (with hopefully mpre yardage?).

This was the first bobbin I spun, one of my own hand-dyed tops that I navajo plied to keep the colours together...


Perhaps a wee bit underplied but nice to spin, even when the original fibre had felted a bit so was reluctant to draft.

I'm currently working my way through the lovely batts I was sent most recently, they like to be spun fine so I'm taking my time (in between everything else!).


There's flashes of golden sparkle in amongst it and I've split the batts to keep the colours together. I plan to navajo ply this one too for strength and keeping colours together. It might take a while though!

So, The last Guild meet was 28th March, a talk and workshop on Indigo Dyeing...


Thought you might like to see a few piccies...


...dunking in the dyebath...

Some of the tie-dyed fabrics waiting for the air to turn them blue then a second dip....

...And on to the airer to finish the process. There were some wonderful effects...


I think this one was clothespegs...

...A fantastic starburst....


So many pretty fabrics to choose from!

Then it was onwards preparing for Round 2. I swatched.....


..and swatched....

...and swatched....


...and swatched! All ready to choose from when the pattern was finalised. So which did I choose?

None of them!

On the evening before the pattern arrived, I had a brainwave and located my only skein of Wollemeise sock yarn (bombeere) and matched it with a single 55g skein of Posh yarn Eva 4ply (cashmere/silk) which on it's own would not have been enough for a pair of socks. So actually, it was quite frugal ;-)

I knitted like fury from 2.30pm Saturday 4th April to find at 9.30pm the leg was too narrow to get on :-(

Still, undeterred, I ripped back a soul-destroying 30 rows and started again, faster and better second time around. By the time I got to Monday afternoon, my eyes were shot, my hands screaming but I was so close I could almost see the fiinshing line....



8pm, I snapped this photo, e-mailled it and we finally got to eat. Thank goodness for Indian Buffets! They were still not exactly finished as this time, they were too looong so that was the next task for Tuesday.

I came in 5th in an incredibly fast division. I may never get that high up the rankings again, may even get knocked out over the next couple of rounds but I can truly say these were the fastest pair of socks I ever knitted and that's what I will take with me from this time's competition. That, and some more damn fine socks ;-)

Of course, that kind of punishment has to have payback and by Tuesday evening, I was beginning with the mother of all headaches that lasted a full 3 days along with stiffness, pain and nausea. I still did my bit at the FACT gallery on Wednesday demonstrating spinning and managed a full 3 hours before my energy dipped out. Still, Thursday I stayed home, the lovely Nadine came visiting with bagsful of goodies and I did a little light knitting...just to keep up the skills, don'tcha know?


So, the first of a pair of socks with yarn dyed by my good self, this one's been screaming to be knitted for a while now and it's good to have a mindless project amongst the level of patterns for Sock Madness this year. I may cast on the second and leave it as a WIP before the next round depending on what time I have (and whether I need the needles!).

As Nadine wanted to learn Moebius knitting, I started another wee project...


Knitted from some pure silk yarn that was a freebie from the previous Skip North, I completed it this morning after losing my pidge podge at Haworth. A nice, quick(ish) project and yummy soft!

In between rounds last time, I completed the Twilleys cardi complete with temporary buttons (photo to follow) and a pair of Crofter socks for Nadine (oops, forgot to photo that one too!); so now I need too plan ahead for the next window project...


Knitted in Sirdar Calico, it will be a summer lacy sweater (but a long way off yet!). This time, I'm using metal needles (brittany birch and this yarn do NOT mix!) and it is a pretty easy knit but does need a wee bit of concentration (lapses make interesting patterns ;-)

I've also been dabbling with a crochet pattern but more of that later too. Round 3 could be anything between a few days to a week away so I'll keep to simple stuff to keep my reflexes sharp but my brain intact! I still have most of a lace clue to knit and the mermaid cardi beckons on the horizon now I've worked out the swatch tension but I'm still lusting after something really complicated to get my teeth into. Maybe after the madness?

Today we had a day together after a weekend of family visitations and ended up in Chester where we discovered a food fair...Some time later, we staggered back to the park and ride laden with goodies, a very nice citrus cheesecake plus some yummy chocolate puds, a mix of olives, some cheeses, game pie butternut squash pasta...proabably more I've forgotten!

We feasted on tomato and chorizo mussels this evening, very nice, followed by the cheesecake. We'll eat well this week!

Best Laid plans

Well, when I signed off last week, I was waiting for the central heating to be fitted, going to be dyeing on the Sunday and hoping that nothing went too adrift...

I'd spent so long on friday/Saturday moving, shifting and otherwise organising that by Sunday I was exhausted and as it happened, nadine was tied up too so we put it off to this Sunday. Unfortunately, time constraints meant there wasn't an opportunity today either but we shared a nice lunch and knitted and chatted anyway. I'll try to make time to dye the stuff I've soaked this morning so the water doesn't go mouldy over the next few days.

The central heating was fitted with only a few minor hitches, the fitting which usually takes 3 days was done in 2, as many pipes as possible that could be routed under the floorboards were routed there and a very clean and tidy job was done too. They took the vast majority of the rubbish away with them and now we have warm rooms and a swanky wireless controller. I dread to think whet the next gas bill will be but it is a lot more relaxing to be in a warm home!

While they were here and with floorboards up, it was not useful for me to be moving about but the enforced stay in the lounge did wonders for my knitting...

Yep, I completed the Xmas Mystery shawl!

It hasn't been blocked yet, mostly because it's so BIG but I've decided against overdyeing it. The gentle sagey green kind of won me over as I knitted it and somehow looked much bewtter knitted up than in the ball. It was a great project to knit and I've even managed to get over the hurdle I had with Mystic star and am nearly on the last (very big) clue! Having no real access to alternative needle sizes or UFO's definitely forced me to carry on with it!

I also did a bit of spinning...

Started at guild and finished at Made on Thursday I really enjoyed the finished yarn. It was fractal spun and whilst the original fibre I dyed wasnt terribly soft the colours were very nice so I'm glad I spun it. Only around 3oom so I'll need to think what to do with it that isn't close to the skin.

I also got an extra surprise at guild last week...

My post - Xmas present from Susan. They're Fetchings in Knitpicks Heather and they're gorgeous! The metal heart says "made with love". Ttoally unexpected but very lovely anyway.

I got my Spinner's Swap Parcel on Monday too...

My first ever plait of Spunky Eclectic fibre, super squidgy BFL in just my colours, merino/silk hand dyed for me, a sweet knitters brooch with needles and a ball of yarn, chocolate, hand cream and a sweet little sheep chocolate shape that I might never eat 'cos it's too cute!

Oh yeah, and by Friday, I had another surprise...

These arrived from blogless Rosemary for helping her with an abortive shawl project. I LOVE Nancy Bush and have virtual fingers crossed right now that I'm successfully booked into her full day class at woolfest. I telephoned to check the letter had been recieved and the lady on the phone said that whilst she didn't have the booking details, she didn't think any of the courses were full up yet so it's looking good, YIPPEE!!!!

Being a bad influence, the poor woman's followed me into Sock Madness, I don't think she quite knows what hit her yet, I was explaining the basics and she was stunned! I hope she has fun 'cos at the end of the day that's what it's all about but it does make us all a bit crazy too (or in my case, crazier than usual!).

Speaking of the Madness, I stayed up 'till past midnight my time last Saturday to sign up and Friday night I scaled the left side of the eiger that constituted the back room right now followed by hours of winding to shortlist these beauties...

There are handspun, handdyed, dyed by others, commercial, self-striping and solid yarns in all the colours under the sun. I did toy with the idea of knitting all seven rounds in shades of red but I have too many pretty yarns so I decided not to limit myself and just go with whatever I felt.

In the process of unearthing this lot, I also happened upon these...

Four skeins of luscious Cashmere Silk laceweight in a colour perfect for a new knitalong I've joined, Mystic Roses. Serendipity or what? I'd totally forgotten it and with yarn like this, it's a crime. I shall enjoy knitting this one!

Of course, there has to be a bit of flipside and that is that since the central heating has been fitted, the noise it makes firing up in the morning is helping me to lose quantities of sleep. By Saturday, I realised I could put the timer forward and actually got a full 8 hours last night, that's much better than all week. Basically because they routed the pipes under the floorboards and joists, they need time to bed in and in the meanwhile, the cracks and thumps of the wood expanding and contracting as the heating courses through wakes me up without fail and I can't get back to sleep afterwards. I figure either I'll get used to it or need less sleep but in the meanwhile, performance is definitely impaired!

I kind of hope I've recovered some by a fortnight's time as I'll have to drive myself to Yorkshire for Skip North and I need my wits about me for certain stages of the motorway. I've still got time but not loads so I may need to resort to herbal or prescription tablets if things don't improve fast and keep fingers x'ed I'm not doped up for the rest of the day. Still, that's in the future and with the pace of life decreasing, it may not be necessary. I'm still glad for everything that's happened since Xmas and next thing after Skip North will be the arrivel of my NEW WHEEL! It's been ordered and a deposit taken and I've an estimate of the end of March for delivery. I will, of course blog on it's arrival ;-)

This week I've a dental check-up :( , a potential trip to Stash :) and plenty of knitting...with maybe a little dyeing and spinning too. I'm not doing any rearranging this week so anything packed away can stay packed away for the time being while I recover and get my circadian rhythms in check.

See you next week!

Gone Fishin'

...Or more precisely, gone dyein'!
So long as everything goes to plan, Sunday will involve the visitation of Nadine and a little dyeing extravaganza(with a Millie's cookie or two thrown in for good measure!). Blogging seems unlikely, neither does blogging tomorrow so you'll have to make do with this hastily cobbled together number.

Actually, I have a fair amount to blog about (if not pictures)!

On Monday, a week after the assessor came round to measure up for the new radiators (we're getting central heating, yaaay!) and told me it'd be 4-10 weeks and I'd definitely get two weeks advance notification; a fitter from Iguana phoned and asked if they could come on Wednesday!
I was shocked to say the least, basically a day's notice to unpack and shift 2 heavy wardrobes, a bookcase,allalong one wall which involved shoving a pile of stuff in the loft then general clearing in both the front room and kitchen. I managed to negotiate it to Monday but it kind of shot my intention to have a laid-back week all to hell.

Tuesday evening, I forgoed the evening knitting group to shift wardrobes (followed by a little drinkie) and also make a major purchase...a new wheel! Well, the pace seems so hot around here, it seemed like the only decent thing to do, that and the fact that to try one out involved a 3+ hour, 3 change train journey costing £70 return :(

With the fluctuations in the pound against the dollar, I was also a little concerned that by the time I came to save up enough to buy it, the cost would have risen so I bit the bullet and pushed the button. Damn you internet ordering sites! It'll come direct from America (as they have none in stock here) and will take 4-6 weeks so watch his space....

Wednesday was a little less frantic, visiting a mate and a much-needed massage in the afternoon. I had planned to do belly dancing in the evening but as the veggies that I chopped for the soup I was making didn't cook 'till roughly half an hour before I was due to leave, I was quite glad when Nadine arrived home late and cried off. Pete had had to work late that day so I also needed to fit in an evening dog walk at some point too.

Thursday, luckily was my big bro's birthday and both he and my hub. took the day off so we went into Liverpool and stuffed ourselves at the Buffet star then waddled back to the car. I even resisted the lure of quality Abakhan yarn!!!

Today has been extremely busy with part two of the master plan into action. Hub took today off too to help me and he has been a trooper (with guidance!). At least now it's minor jobs left to do, the room where the boiler is to be housed is suitably cleared and the upstairs radiator sites emptied.We did break off at lunch for a long leisurely bagel and cake at Brigittes so the day wasn't all about stressing and organising.

Tomorrow will be guild and we are striking out for independence again by bringing our spinning wheels (it's inkle looming)...it feels very rebellious! Hub is being a diamond and driving me there and back so I can chill out and knit on the drive so any non-dyeing time on sunday will be tidying up the last little jobs (and a bit on Saturday evening too, I guess).

Haven't a clue when they'll turn up so I guess it'll be another early rising to sort the dogs or else another plan...still a couple of days to think about it though.

Oh, and Sock Madness sign-ups start this weekend! March the 1st (US time?), 'till the 7th or until they get enough competitors (200?). The silliness really begins from the 19th...the day before Skip North! Ah well, good job round 1 generally takes a while....

Back soon(ish) hopefully after the chaos has passed......

An Update (and a few pic's too)...

Though limited, at least I have a few photos to show you this week...



I've ben getting back into spinning since I decided to stop beating myself about the head trying to spin a sweatersworth. Instead, I've been choosing some pretty fibres, the top one from January's Fiber Swap over on Ravelry. It's a mixture of fine fibres and Merino nepps and should be interesting either as an edging to a garment or in its own right. Time will tell.

The Middle skein is the last batt from Woolydoodles's swap last year. Now all 4 are spun, I'm ready to knit them maybe into socks. Just in time for Sock Madness!

The bottom skein is the latest yumminess from the Yarn Yard's Fibre club. It's the softest Merino and nylon combo I've ever felt and i simply spun this skein just as it wished to produce a lovely squishy, slightly thick and thin yarn. I do have another plait to spin somewhat more civilized but this will be a warm 'n' cosy neckwarmer ASAP.

But that's not all....

My February Fiber Swap parcel arrived on Thursday, all the way from Australia! when it arrived, the contents looked like this but when I delved further...

...A plait of hand-dyed Polwarth and Mulberry Silk yumminess, 5 batts of superfine Merino hand dyed and still with plenty of texture and some cute heart-shaped choccies!

The perfect antidote to a busy week, I sat right down and spun in any time I had free.

By Saturday, I had these...

The top 2 skeins are actually spun the weekend before from my own hand-dyeing but below is the pretty plait, fractal spun. I got 400m out of that 2ply yarn so I'm hoping again it's not too fine for socks. I'd love to use one of my handspun yarns in the comp. Below it is the Merino batts, as you can see, it has made a lumpy, textured yarn but it still has a soft handle. It's much more colourful in reality but still mean 'n' moody.

Knitting has sort of taken a back seat this week, I have done more but as I'm a wee bit whacked right now and photographing more would require trips upstairs to spread them out on the bed you'll need to wait for another day! Still, I can show you this....

I'm stuck mid-clue 3 of the Mystic Star shawl. The numbers don't add up and in the short periods of time I have to look at it, I can never work out quite what's wrong. I'm hoping this week'll be less complicated so I can take a day out to sort things like this out. Well, you never know!

Monday gone, I was waiting in for the engineer to measure up for radiators in the afternoon then on Tuesday I was at both knitting groups and Wednesday I went for a much-needed massage but then had to hop in the car and wait for an hour outside the RSPCA for madam's pills. Thursday I was at group again but luckily the shop was quiet and I spent a pleasant couple of hours spinning. Feeling rash, I walked to my friends and back again later on Friday so it's been good that the weekend's been quiet to try and recuperate. At least most of the swaps are done, the remaining one for mid-march and I can concentrate on completing a few UFO's before the Madness begins. Who knows, there may be a shawl nearing it's completing by this time next week.

Speaking of which (sock Madness), it appears that the start date, 19th March is the day before Skip North so there is the potential for me to be knitting socks whilst I am away. Worse case scenario, the first round is generally slower so I should stick around for a little longer than that (at least 'till the speedy gonzalazes of this world take over!). I may have a wee peruse of the 4ply stash today...a little winding here, a little balling there; I certainly found it came in handy last time!

And finally, instead of the usual doggy photo, I thought I'd show you something different (though you may need to click on the photo to see)....

Meet Purdey, my bro's cat creating maximum havoc by making herself comfy on our recently laid coats. Quite why she's taken to sticking her tongue out, nobody's quite sure...

Somewhat Sleep Deprived...

And with no pic's to show you right now but if I don't do a quick blog now, who knows when I'll find the time 'cos the pace doesn't seem to show any signs of slowing up yet!

I still haven't found time to organise more woodwork painting yet as we were trying to improve access into the back rooms. The Warm front advisor was arriving on Wednesday at some point so it was up early to get the dogs around the park only to wait 'till 11am before he turned up...
If I'd have got up at my usual time, don'tcha just bet he would have arrived early? Anyway, I didn't know how much he needed to explore/measure so better safe than sorry (even if it was unnecessary!). I was warned it could take up to 4-6 months so I was somewhat surprised to get a phonecall on Friday from the surveyor to measure up for the radiators! So guess what's happening tomorrow? At least it's in the afternoon!

I guess it could still be a long wait for the actual engineers but one step at a time...

In the meanwhile, Nadine's deciding whether to explore Wonderwool as a source for potential new wheels (yes, I know I'm a bad influence!) so obviously I'd support her in her venture even though I hadn't planned to visit (but it'd be nice!). It's still early days and an overnight stay would definitely be on the cards so I guess that needs booking sooner rather than later.

This morning I was up even earlier to go to a trade fair! Val had wangled me a free ticket (and transport) to the NEC and I found it really interesting. I got to see a whole heap of stuff that's either new to the market or not even out there yet and some of it might even end up in the shop in the future, exciting! I did get a small selection of freebies and a free copy of the Knitter which was nice as well as some soak samples and for once I didn't spend and money (I would have if I could!)...even my lunch was organised for me so it made for a cheap if long day out. Still, by 2pm we were flagging hence returning around 5pm. I hope I can get a bit of recovery time in tomorrow to recuperate....

In crafty news, I have decided to shelve the sweater spinning project for now. I had a pleasant day spinning one of the recent Yarn Yard plaits, a divine Merino/Nylon blend that's fluffy as a cloud and a joy to spin. I may actually be tempted to knit it into a yummy neckwarmer very soon....I spun some of my own hand-dyed BFL on Saturday too and Navajo plied it in 2 seperate lots. I was aiming for 4ply with the new control card and haven't a clue how many yards yet but it sure looks pretty and I'd love it if I could squeeze a pair of socks out.

Hubby's sweater has hit another snag; it could be minor stitch adjustment or major i.e. rip the entire back back to the rib. Not like I have the energy to work out which this evening but watch this space. It's getting more likely it'll become a UFO in the near future :(

The Xmas lace shawl is getting closer to completion, lord knows how many stitches there are on the needles now as rows take a looong time but I'm only a few weeks away from the finish now. I hit a bit of a snag with the Mystic Star shawl which required a nail biting frog of a few rows to get it right...after trying to fix it for many hours of course! Still, I'm behind on the clues but have started clue 3 which has gotta be good.

The Freedom Cardi has increased some, pic's to follow and Nadine's socks have been started so there's a few plates I'm spinning right now; on top of organising and posting fibre swaps to Australia and organising spinning swaps in this country!

So yeah, the pace of life's still a wee bit extreme for my liking but it's good too...
More next time and photos too (if my fuddled brain can cope!)

Has it really been nearly a month?

Okay, so it looks like I’ve missed my blogiversary again (what is it about this time of year that sucks all free time like a big black hole?) and not managed to blog for a while but at least I’m here now and I can try to do a bit of a catch-up.

So, what have I got to blog about?

Well, as the last proper blog post was 4th Jan (has it really been that long?), I guess this post will be a long one.

First(ish) was the wet patch by the kitchen door. Well, it was the cold of just-past-xmas and Biscuit’s 13 ½ now and has been known to have the odd accident so I wasn’t too concerned at first. I used spill magic to sop up the wet and put paper down then when it got wet again, added extra papers etc. I should have twigged when the spill magic crystals swelled to a jelly but then I had a wad of papers and removed them to find an even bigger wet patch underneath (and dry paper on top) then I started having kittens. You see, it was a few feet from the stop cock tap inside and the outside one was pretty much in a direct line-of-sight to the wet spot (underneath the floorboards) so you can imagine what mental images were running through my head...spraying water and a lake under the house just about covers it!

The reality was somewhat less dramatic despite when I cleared the corner under the stairs to allow our friendly neighbourhood plumber access and saw how far the wet and mould had travelled I totally freaked! What he identified (very quickly) was that the seals holding the stop cock tap in place had broken and it was causing a tiny drip that over the course of time the carpet and underlay had wicked to spread over a large area. The patch by the door was obviously ultimate saturation but on lifting the carpet, the floorboards were wet but not damagingly so; a few hours with a fan heater dealt with that.

So, the tap was replaced, the floorboards relatively dry but the carpet was ruined. Hub was onto the insurance people on Monday and whilst they wouldn’t pay for the repair, they would agree to replacing the carpet providing we went with their approved dealer (Allied Carpets) and sent an assessor round to see whether the carpet could be saved. That was about a week all in with me worrying this time that they’d only stump up half the cost etc. etc. as there was no way we’d logically have paid for new-for-old cover, had we?

When the carpet man arrived (the appropriately named Tony Topping!), he said he had been given authorisation to replace the carpet (minus a £50 excess they’d previously mentioned) and surprise, surprise, we DID have new-for-old cover! The slight downer was that the samples he gave me to choose from were basically various shades of beige...from cream to darker oatmeal. I ended up with the darkest one available which will still be paler than what’s currently there but it will lighten up the hall. Thing is, the hall really needs re-decorating, at least the skirting boards and woodwork overpainted from the somewhat exuberant gold spray paint that I thought was creative some years ago (don’t ask!). Plus the paper really needs replacing below the dado rail where Floppy’s “ helped” to remove it...and painted a more neutral colour too (deep pinky red rag rolled?).

Hence we've tried, in bitesize chunks to wash down the paintwork and key the surface ready for the first coat. Pete's done most of the downstairs skirting board but there’s loads to go. I’m still waiting to hear when the carpet fitters will arrive so at the moment, we have this look downstairs....

(actually, they arrived Friday with only a couple of days notice but now it looks more like this)...

We've put oddments down to catch any trodden-in muck as it's quite a bit paler than before and there's still plenty more to do (including touching up the satin gloss paint that got damaged during fitting) but hey, it's a start! Despite not being able to help an awful lot, I've been shuffling around like a little old lady for the little I did do so I need a bit of downtime before I do any more. This could take some time....

Oh yeah, Biscuit "helped"...



No? Maybe this one?

Yeah, 'cos cuddling up to wet skirting board is the best place to be! When we got back from the supermarket, this was what greeted us and there was a reasonable circular spot coated in black hairs sticking straight out, quite funny really!

Oh yeah and I mustn’t forget my fiber swap parcel, a mix of yummy fibres and merino nepps that I spun up into this...

These yummy soft batts were what arrived through the post a couple of weeks ago, courtesy of Ghostknitter. Unfortunately, in the hecticness of the last month, I've forgotten exactly what fibres were included but I can remember corriedale and merino nepps, the inspiration being spring.

Thank you so much, I'm only sorry it's taken me so long to find camera and alternative lead (as original one went walkabout!)

Then there was the Monday after that (about 3 weeks ago?) when I had to have a really yucky medical. It actually worked out very well but that didn’t stop me stressing about it either before, during or for a week afterwards waiting for the fateful brown envelope. Still, I can put all that behind me now and look to positive things...

Like holidays, totally out of the blue we had a little windfall post Christmas so I’ve been able to pay off the first bit of the Ireland holiday. It’s nice that I don’t have to worry about scraping pennies together for it and at a particularly tough time for many I’m very grateful.

Still, it’s been a total swings and roundabouts ride. Hubby bought a stereo system thingummy for the kitchen but was very unhappy with its performance when we received it. On talking with customer services, they decided it was probably faulty so arranged for a (very convoluted) pick-up which involved more stress and phonecalls to actually get a date. Even then, I waited in all day for a courier who must have knocked on the door with a sponge as I sure as hell didn’t hear him. It was only when I went to bring in the bin and saw the yellow card that I phoned them up and gave them a rollicking. He arrived back half-an-hour later somewhat sheepish and I thought that was the matter ended but by Monday the company had gone bankrupt so bye-bye stereo money! It’s not nice but I feel it could have been worse...losing over £100 is a lot of money but it was from Xmas money so we weren’t left out of pocket as such. Getting a £100 gas bill and a £200 credit card bill did though!

It’s been a right bizarre month!

In other crafty news, I’ve been knitting for my Swap Partner. Rosemary’s now received her parcel so I can safely blog about it. In a bizarre twist of fate, we knew each other from a yahoo group and she clocked my identity early on so it’s actually been really good. We e-mailled each other regularly and I feel she’s more of a proper friend than if we’d been “secret” pals so it’s all good.

(sorry for nicking your photo, in typical fashion, I forgot to take one myself before I packed them away!).

This is what I’d knitted, a leaf lace scarf in 70% Angora yarn sent to me in a recent yarn swap. It’s lovely and squishy and I thought it’d be cosy around her neck. Then there was the handwarmers that were in her favourites list, trimmed with an oddment of the Angora for them to match. As her ravatar is currently a bunny, I thought it appropriate. Then there’s a pair of 12mm Knitpicks needle tips (as she’s collecting), cute mug and some goodies. She seemed to like it all anyway!

In the meanwhile, I’d put aside the ambitious Christmas shawl in order to finish Rosemary’s swap parcel and also the Hug coat that languished for some time for want of an appropriate collar. Not any more though!

I ditched the original stocking stitch design for a more intricate one with a little short-row shaping (so it’d lie flatter) and I’m pleased with the final effect. It’s currently on show at the shop hence the pic.

I was up-to-date with the shawl by Wednesday...and indeed cracking on with other projects like Peter’s new sweater (grr!),

the new new shop project (yum)
And the neverending spinning saga.
Actually, I haven’t been terribly lucky with spinning either, here are my attempts so far...

My first skein (left) was really twisty but under advisement, I put it through the wheel again and plied it a little more so it’s less crazy and the second 3-ply yarn I have stuck to my trusty Joy wheel throughout and it’s not bad (if I do say so myself!). So far, I reckon I’ve spun around 400g of my 1600g target so it’s not looking good for finishing on time. Plus what I have spun so far is closer to sockweight despite being 3-plied so I’m going to need a very fine cabled pattern...unless I ditch what I’ve spun so far and retrain myself to spin fatter. The yardage isn’t brilliant either L Nor is the feel, definitely overspun in areas.

So, I’m torn between calling a halt right now, carrying on regardless or starting from scratch again.

Decisions, decisions....

I could just pick some lovely dyed roving and have a play instead....

Oh, and Sunday mornings have transposed to Nadine’s and lunch and gamey/crafty pursuits so finding a slot (and energy) to blog in is getting harder...but I’m not complaining!

After years of winding hanks from my knees and a three-hour stint with a mate ballwinding a particularly awkward Tencel laceweight yarn, I was left with a deep desire to buy a skeinwinder of some variety. You know the kind of thing, some are like the ribs of an umbrella without the fabric (unsurprisingly called an umbrella swift), others take different forms. Well, I was mulling over the cost when it occurred to me that I already have one! Two to be precise! To explain, a few years back, I picked up these wooden ballwinder kit thingummies, the must have come from the fifties at the latest. There’s a cute little wooden post attached with a rubber band to a winder-upper handle and four arms with pegs at the end and a block of wood that they all slide into...a swift! That entailed turning the house upside down looking for the box it was all in and remembering that I’d bought another which I could lay my hands on easily but unfortunately was incomplete. Anyway, after tracking down the second set and setting it all up, I’m hooked! To wind a skein of sock yarn in ten minutes and the selfsame tencel that caused me all the troubles in half an hour is addictive, as is watching it whirring round in circles as I wind.

Hence I have multiple balls of wound yarn cluttering up the living room table as whenever I get the urge, one more skein gets unearthed and wound...I figure it’ll pay off in the long run...

See you all next week...Maybe!

UK swap - Winter Warmers for your head

What is your favourite style of hat?

I sort of have two criteria, that which I'd love to knit and that which I'd actually use! The wind can bite pretty hard around here so it tends to go straight through most knitted hats. When I was considering knitting a hat for hubbie for xmas it was an EZ double thickness number relatively tightly knit. Not exactly fashionable but would most likely keep the weather at bay! I aspire to knitting tam style hats (berets) but am not at all sure they'd suit me. Possibly peaked newsboy caps would suit me better but as my head's smaller than average a lot of commercial hats swamp my short hair and make me look like a chemo victim!

I have a Canadian russian style hat (earflaps/ties) that I've had for too many years to mention and that generally keeps the cold and wet away.

Do you have a favourite yarn for making hats with?

Wool all the way. If it can be felted then it's even less likely to let the wind/wet through.

What hat patterns are in your queue at the moment?

Funnily enough, there's not many due to the first statement. In general terms, I like the pretty lacy hats, the cabled ones and aspire to knitting a fair isle tam but this is about the only one in my favourites. This one took my eye recently.

a) 'Cos for some reason I've never knitted entrelac yet and b) 'cos it's pretty!

Do you have a favourite handmade hat that you (or someone else) has made?

I've got Wooly Wormhead's e-book and lots of aspirations but not a lot else though I did get sent a lovely lacy hat in a swap a while back. I use it in the spring when the weather's a bit kinder and not wet.

Warming Your Knees (UK Swap)

(If you're looking for the weekly post, just scroll past this one...)

What has been your favourite finished blanket/lapghan?

Not something I generally knit because it takes a lot of time to create BUT…
I did knit up a blanket from handspun. (Pity I don't have a photo!)

Basically, when I was pretty new to the spinning scene, I bought fleeces indiscriminately. If it was cheap, it was mine! Hence I ended up with a Derbyshire gritstone fleece with half of Derbyshire in it…the thorny bits; and 2kg of black Shropshire that was coarse as dog hair (and not the sort you spin!). So, in a fit of using the rubbish fleece before the good stuff, I forced myself to work through them, producing a combination of black, off white and black and white tweed yarns.

There was thick, thin and everything in between (I was playing with spinning techniques) and I ended up with around 2kg of not soft yarn. Well, it was never going to go next to the skin so a big lap blanket sounded ideal. I got out the Harmony stitch guides, cast on random numbers of stitches and found a pattern that needed that amount. I picked up along the edge of the last one to save sewing up and the changing patterns kept me entertained until I had a sizeable blanket that gets a lot of use come the cold weather! It may not be pretty (I never had enough to put a border around) but it’s serviceable and keeps the draughts away.

Do you have a favourite pattern that you'd like to make in the future?

There are lots of patterns I like but I’m not sure I’d have the staying power to keep at it!

I must admit though I've had a fondness for this one for a while.

Do you have a favourite type of yarn for making blankets/lapghans?
Wool or wool blends. It's washable and keeps you warm!

New Years Resolutions...after a fashion!

I’ve thought long and hard about this one...I still want to challenge myself but not to overwhelm myself and therefore run away from every single goal I’ve set (like last year!). I also have to bear in mind that I will have less free time in 2009 and that with the time I do have I need to start thinking about clearing space, re-organising my sizeable stash and attempting to get some sort of order for the first time in I-don’t-know –how-long.

In crafty news I will still aim to reduce my UFO’s at a faster pace than I create new ones and attempt to keep up with Lace KAL’s that entice me and then suck up most of my remaining time so...with all that weighed in the balance...here it is.

1) I will aim to spin 1600gms of fibre in 3 months and then knit a cabled sweater (to be decided) in 2009.

2) I will continue to attempt to keep up with the current (Christmas) KAL and the next one I’m signed up for (late January) but not beat myself up if I don’t.

3) I will give it my darnedest for this year’s Sock Madness from March given the time I have available...I already have a HUGE stack of suitable sock yarn ready and waiting...

4) I will aim to finish at least one UFO a month, other commitments permitting.

5) I have just joined the “26 in 26” group with the aim to lose a pound a week ready for Woolfest. With the Wii Fit board for xmas, I hope to get a little extra excercise in and less intake to try and shift the weight. Something to aim for, anyway!

But above all...
6)I reserve the right to ditch any of the above and do whatever the hell I want if any of it gets like too much pressure ‘cos let’s face it, life’s stressful enough without too much extra squeeze!

With that in mind, I’ve done a 50% catalogue of the prepared fibres invading the house in order to find a suitable ready-to-go option for the first resolution. I’ve settled for oatmeal BFL which may well get the dye treatment after spinning so I can get straight into it. It will be boring but I’ve set mini targets of 200g per week to slot in amongst everything else.

I’ve been slogging away at the Christmas Shawl KAL too....

These pic's were after I completed clue 4 earlier in the week but now I'm here...

...and a close-up....
I’ve needed the rest days to catch up but as of 10.30pm Friday, I completed clue 6 on Saturday with clue 7 due today. I do hope the weekly clues are still bite-size as the daily ones are definitely taking more than one day!

For better or worse, I’ve also signed up for Mystic Star KAL starting late January but as it only takes a single 1000 yard skein and is in 4 parts I’m hoping it won’t eat into my time too much. My yarn’s been picked and paid for so I’ll be ready to go when it arrives, more yummy tencel from Yarntopia Treasures.

The weather here’s been so cold, we never did manage to get to see the “men” at Crosby sands though it had been more bearable on Friday. In fact, on Saturday morning the sun was shining and the temperature was almost bearable though it got colder again in the evening.

Maybe it was the sun that kind of addled my brain as Saturday was the day I booked the entire year’s holidays in one fell swoop! In fact, I’ve not only booked two weeks plus but I’ve organised separate accommodation for Skip North in March and will be booking Woolfest accommodation ASAP too!(actually, now it's all booked) Phew!

There is method in my madness, we’ve been mulling over a bigger than usual holiday in Ireland for some while now so when the holiday cottage brochure hit the mat, I felt it was time to do something about it. I’d pre-planned a later trip to Bakewell too as it’s a great base for the area and their farmers market is fantastic but when I investigated the single property I’d previously singled out, all the cheap weeks had already gone so in order to get a booking at all, it had to be done now. Still, although I’m feeling a bit twitchy with quite how much I’ve booked today, with only £25 deposits they can be paid off in stages and I don’t need to worry about making any more choices this year.

The Ireland trip is more complicated than usual as both the ferry and cottage has been booked BUT I need to find somewhere for a two night stay on the way down (might as well have a wee taster elsewhere too...) and a B+B close to the ferry terminal for the early sailing on the return trip. It’ll be challenging but more of an adventure than usual without having to rely on a coach company and what they think you want to visit. We’ll be discovering the region between Cork and Waterford and it’ll be totally new to both of us which is the exciting bit. Plus if the fates are with us, I might get the chance to visit Jo.

Well, there's a lot of pennies to be found for this little lot but if I pay off little and often we might just break even. 'Till then I'll just have to rein in the bargain hunting!