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!
