Shades of Grey

On the knitting front I finished my first Jaywalker yesterday afternoon.
No photos as yet but I'm making good progress on the second sock already.


I'm also upto row 12 on the sleeves for Durrow.





I'd also like to show you the beautiful stitch-markers that Marianne made for me, I have 2 sets in the same colours, which as you can see are extremely useful for marking the pattern in this project!

While I'm on the subject of Marianne, she has been here every day this month to comment and cheer me on through this daily blog challenge, and I'd just like to take this opportunity to publicly humiliate thank her for all her comments and support X0X0X




I'd also like to thank all my other visitors and commentors aswell.

Its been a funny month to set myself the target of daily blogging, and some days it's been difficult finding material, but I've made it!

See you on the other side!

The sun came up for a short while this morning, and it was perfect weather for photographs, not too bright. Unfortunately the weather has taken a turn for the worse and we've got gales and torrential rain, luckily I managed to capture the beauty of the Finn Sheep fibre I have been spinning:

The close ups really show the colours, I can't get enough of this stuff, I have 300g, its not perfectly spun, a couple of skeins are a bit thinner than the rest, because I wasn't concentrating, but I think if I bear that in mind when I work out what I'm going to do with it, it won't really matter but I just don't know if 300g is enough of this yummy fibre.

Note to self.....do not attempt to go shopping for birthday presents between Christmas and New Year, make sure you get it all organised before Christmas.

Ok it wasn't too bad, but it's a trip I could have done without and to top it all it rained all day, I did a swift trip around the LYS just incase, but nothing took my fancy, well there's a colour in the Regia Sock Yarn St-r-e-t-c-h, that always catches my eye, but hasn't found its way home with me, yet!

So tonight I'm off to a Dance Party thing at The Rooms, my friends Erica and Melita are holding a Nearly New Years Dance Party, these events are always great, and I've got to take some knitting as I'm going to teach Deborah how to purl!

These few days between Christmas and New Year, are not necessarily good days for me, the weather has been dull, grey and dismal, and I feel a bit agitated and stir crazy.

I have finished spinning all the Finn Sheep and it has had a wash I am now leaving it to dry 'setting the twist'. Here's hoping for a let up in the dullness, so I can finish the month in style with photos, although the colour of this stuff is fiendishly difficult, maybe I could try scanning it!

I sorted through all of my ordinary knitting needles today, you know the straight ones with nobs on the end. The thing is due to one thing and another I have inherited old knitting needles from several sources over the years and I've never actually sorted through them all. I was working with the intention of making a knitting needle roll but ran out of steam when I realised the fabric I wanted was in the roof.

I discovered the only knitting needle size I don't have is 7 1/2 mm! Not that I have anything at all in mind that needs this size.

I then decided it's about time I knitted the gauge swatch for Durrow so I proceeded to winding my hank of yarn on my trusty ball winder..... ok so I thought I could do it on my own, and it did start to go ok until suddenly from out of nowhere it just tangled, and several deep breaths later I did get my first hank wound. After dinner when I decided that if I was going to commence both sleeves simultaneously I would need a 2nd hank, I commandeered Neo to wind the ball winder slowly, what was I thinking? Well actually I had better results than first time round, although getting Neo to wind in just one direction took a bit of doing.

Here is where I got the beautiful charcoal Blue Faced Leicester, (if you're on a yarn diet look away now!). It really is the softest wool ever, there's bound to be more up soon, but E-bay seems to be in a post Christmas lull. He's got Blue Faced Leicester sliver at rock bottom prices, so I will probably buy, dye and spin some of this, when I've worked through some more of the fibre in my stash, although spinning fibre doesn't count anyway!

I keep thinking I'm not going to make it, but there are only four more days left after today, for me to finish this daily blog challenge.

Today didn't start very well when I got my favourite and first pair of handknit socks out of the draw to find a dropped stitch and ladder in need of repair.

I've had a good rummage through part of my stash to find the yarn for the repair, and I feel a bit better, especially about the yarn diet, because there are loads of little gems in my stash that I keep forgetting about.

I found this fortune cookie thing yesterday.... but lost the plot before I could get it pasted in.

My Fortune Cookie told me: Flee at once, all is discovered. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

I decided to go again...

My Fortune Cookie told me: Honesty is the best policy, but insanity is a better defense. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

I was on a roll, so went for 3!!

My Fortune Cookie told me: Your reasoning is excellent -- it's only your basic assumptions that are wrong. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

Please don't think me indulgent, if the truth be known I have never even seen a real Fortune Cookie in my life, so I'm just making up for lost time with this virtual version.

As you can see from my side bar I have decided to take the plunge and knit from my stash, these are the Rules:

1. The Knit-From-Your-Stash-a-Thon will start January 1, 2007 and run through September 30, 2007 -- a period of nine months.
2. We will not buy any yarn during that period, with the following exceptions:
2.a. Sock yarn does not count. What? You think we are made of stone?
2.b. If someone asks for a specific knitted gift that we really and truly do not have the yarn for, we may buy yarn to knit that gift.
2.c. If we are knitting something and run out of yarn, we may purchase enough to complete the project.
2.d. We each get one "Get Out of Jail Free" card -- we are each allowed to fall off the wagon one time.
3. We are allowed to receive gifts of yarn.
4. Spinning fiber of any sort is exempt.
5. This is an extra necessary rule, any yarn I need for a specific college related project is exempt.
6. Oddballs from the second hand shops (thrift stores) don't count!

I have finally managed to get a button working on the sidebar (yee-har!) which links to Wendy's blog where this knit-a-thon originates. Wendy also welcomes knitters adjusting the rules to suit themselves, and I have added number five.

As I will be starting my C & G Hand-Knitting Course here in January and that involves some designing and knitting the designs, I decided that I couldn't really restrict myself in this way when it comes to course work.

I've also added number six, just incase there's a vintage find or an oddball of mohair in the second hand shops that I can't live without.

I will not cheat, if and when I do fall off the wagon I will put my hands up and tell you, but to be honest I don't think it will be that difficult easy.

Ok so I think I'm going to be pretty busy with the knitting course, I've got a biggish stash of lovely yarn, I've found stuff upstairs which has been stashed for 10years, because I stupidly had a big break from knitting until this year, and fibre and sock yarn are exempt, how hard can it be?

Nearly as good as a real sheep here is Neo in his

nursery school play! Its been a quiet Christmas day, Neo woke up at 8.30 and we all went down to open presents.

I had Knitting Over the Edge by Nicky Epstein from my mum.

But this book which Keith bought for me is fan-fibre-tastic!

This quote from the 1st page says it all ...

'Joining colours, joining hands

interlacing woven strands,

linking tones in loops and bands,

Fine techniques from foreign lands

bring together our love of colour.

Past and future now combined

In a universal language

That will stand the test of time.'

I can't wait to start experimenting with my stock of fibre and yarn for dyeing.

Happy Christmas Eve! This is my little white tree, you can play spot the difference with my colour change tree lights if you like.

DREAMING OF A WHITE CHRISTMAS!

I can dream can't I, I don't think there's much chance to be honest, doesn't seem cold enough at all, this picture was taken last January. I've been beaveringon with my spinning today, just counting the hours, almost Christmas Eve!

I'm really too tired to blog today, naughty Neo woke me up at 0520, and I actually thought it was 20 to 7, by the time I realised my mistake we were up, luckily he happily watched Monsters Inc while I attempted to knit my Jaywalkers in a zombie like state. I'm trying to keep it brief without copping out but keep having to re-type bits, eek!

The photo above is a costume from the Nutcracker, I don't know how familiar you are with Liquorice Allsorts but that is what the costume is based on, I just like to see people thinking out of the box, unusual ideas, I think as an artist it gets you thinking! The costumes were on display in a shop window in Tunbridge Wells, I can't remember which ballet company it is!

Talking of candy that naughty Marianne sent over some Knitpicks yarn that I had purchased, (they don't deliver to the UK) and she filled up the box with tonnes of edible goodies, chocolate, more chocolate, raspberry sweets, and of course the authentic candy cane which I had requested. Not only that but some lovely little stitchmarkers, and some extra Kool-aid too,she's an angel!

GRATUITOUS CUTENESS!

I know your keen eyes hadn't missed Neo in his hoodie the other day. No I'm not doing any sneaky secret knitting (yet!). I actually completed this project in July. It was a very easy knit called Casper, featured in the Cornelia Tuttle Hamilton Noro Book 1.

260 miles later, and Jessica loves her new scarf!

Ok so its naked Tuesday, but calamity after calamity seem to be striking me down at the moment, I am just going to blunder on but the Naked Tuesday I had planned for today will have to be postponed till normal service has resumed.

Apart from the problems with dh's laptop, last night my bit that joins the foot pedal to the wheel snapped, luckily I have had a spare that came with the wheel, so its not too bad, I just need to remember to order a new one so I have a spare for when I wear it out again!

So yesterday I was trying to scan and copy my son's school portrait, to share with friends and family, it wasn't going very well so I got dh to give me a hand last night, several hours and computer crashes later we hadn't got anywhere and were both a little cross.

We copy the file to my laptop for me to try again this morning, 1st try the computer is counting up I'm getting a few things together in the other room, for our trip later today when my computer beeps so I run down to get the lead, but when I get here the computer is doing strange things, and putting itself to sleep, I wake it back up and start again, not failing to notice that the little wireless gizmo that connects to the broadband isn't lit up, so NOT WORKING.

How am I supposed to blog under these conditions!

Ok so I've logged into dh's laptop just to tell you what's happening, and now I've got to swiftly pack a few bits for that family visit, rush off to Neo's school play, and then drive 130 miles to see family.

Back tomorrow, hoping all calamitous events have passed!

THE CURSE OF THE SWEATER! Or why I should stick to knitting little items like hats and socks!


3 sleeves and 2 polonecks later, and a whole lot of blocking and I'm not 100% happy with it, the diagonal cable has caused alot of commotion, and one of my side seams really bothers me, one side the colours and ribs match but I can't get the other side to look right, if I make the colour stripes line up the diagonal rib doesn't, I've unpicked and re-stitched it 3 times so far. If I ever tackle a similar project I would work the main body of the sweater in the round, as many 'Zimmerman' fans do. I have just bought myself a couple of her books, Knitting Without Tears and The Knitters Almanac. There's a real pernickety perfectionist lurking within me and I don't know if I she can live with that side seam!

3 Sleeves, this was down to Noro really, I mean it doesn't have to match but I started the back and front in the same place, and did the same with the sleeves, (I always knit 2 sleeves at the same time), but unfortunately over halfway through, I realised that one of my balls of wool had been wound completely back to front to all the others and the banded colours were running backwards, so I had to knit a 3rd sleeve to match.

The problems over the poloneck, well I followed the pattern 10cm of k2p2 rib, then increase in the purl stitches, and continue in k2p3 for another 10cms it seemed to drag on forever, then I cast it off tried it on and the neck seemed to flare out alarmingly and didn't look at all right so I frogged back down to the increases and just re-knit back up in the k2p2 rib all the way.

I have always liked this pattern, it's in a Winter Vogue Magazine from 1998 and is designed by Oscar De La Renta! I do like tha natural earthy tones in the Noro Silk Garden (shade 203) , I'm just not entirely happy with the end result yet, maybe it will grow on me if we have a few chilly days, either that or I'm going to have to frog the lot and start again! Don't worry I won't do anything hasty, maybe if I give it a gentle handwash I'll like it better, the sleeves feel a bit short, I think I spent so long blocking the body the sleeves were a little overlooked.

Late posting tonight, due to having to rely on dh for the photo, and his laptop kept crashing and was infected with something nasty, which took a bit of sorting out, I also got engrossed with a film called The Core, and have been merrily spinning away all afternoon and evening, so anyway, as you can see I have finally finished the sweater, although I'm not sure about it yet, will tell you more about the struggle to finish it tomorrow!

At last here are finished photos of the scarf, I'm hoping to get some photos of my niece modelling it when I visit next week.

The pattern I used in the end is quite simple I based it on the Jaywalkers stitch pattern. I used a multiple of 17 stitches, and cast 238 stitches onto a 5.5mm circular needle.

The stitch pattern is as follows: Row 1: *Increase in 1st stitch, knit 6, slip 2 stitches, knit 1, pass both the slipped stitches over, knit 6, increase in next stitch* repeat to end. 2nd row knit. Obviously the great thing about knitting on a circular needle and joining in a new colour each row to form the stripe pattern and fringe, also means that you don't need to purl.

STUDIO FRIDAY

I first came across Studio Friday on Sydney's art blog. This is basically what SF is about...

"Studio Friday" is the place where we artists meet for a weekly creative challenge to show little glimpses of our studios, our creative space.It is a place where you can show off the treasures and gems in your studio. YOU are the artist!
Every Monday a new topic will be announced which gives you a new challenge to explore your own studio space and go on an adventurous treasure hunt discovering your own space with a new view, in a new light, from a new angle.
You can capture the topic and illustrate it in whichever artistic medium you would like to. It doesn't necessarily have to be a photo. It can be in form of a drawing, a sketch, you can carve it, quilt it, felt it, potter it, etch it...etc.
The topics are such a way that you will never show your whole space all at once but only little pieces and partial views of it the only condition being that it has to be in your studio space.
Everyone's submissions will appear on each Friday in the "Latest entries" gallery section where we can all have a browse around and peak into everybody's creative space.

Over the last two weeks the artists have looked at favourite colour combinations, and then last week is was colour combinations they didn't like, and it got me thinking and I came up with an idea for a Studio Friday topic and sent it to Tine, she liked it so much she made it this weeks topic! So I thought since it was my idea I ought to get my s**t together and take part!

"All these colour combos have given me an idea, especially with Christmas coming...to do a 'white christmas' studio friday...where artists put together whatever they want...only using neutrals...or to be really strict....white, (being a textile artist its great to get back to basics and to restrict oneself to using just one colour, then see how many different surfaces or textures you can find.)"

So this was my starting point, I gathered a collection of white's and neutrals together. Basically you're looking at some balls of wool, prepared sheep fibre for spinning and felting, processed top, embroidery canvas, mini canvases, embroidery frame and hoop, and my felting mat, probably not that exciting image wise.

So I started to take the yarn for a walk around my still life, almost drawing a freestyle squiggle, delved a little deeper with the camera and came up with this....

I really like that last one, its a bit less of a squiggle and a bit like an abstract winter landscape, don't accidental experiments always make the best art!

Here you can see what everybody else gets up to!

I've been running around all day so still no pictures, I did complete the scarf last night at Knit Jam, it just needs some gentle blocking. Therefore I'm showing you the largest in a series of bags I made, they're called ragbags and this one is made in scraps of blue denim and cotton drill. I think I actually finished them early this year and I have made a couple on canvas to go on a wall aswell. They were based on some leather rag cushions that we bought for our living room, which have been woven on a loom, but these rags are all stitched to the bag. Neo keeps pulling the rag strips off the cushions, hardly a day passes when he doesn't pull one out!

The picture at the end of yesterdays post was an installation piece for my Final Major Project, which was for my Foundation Diploma in Art and Design, which I completed in 2003.

I don't really feel like my words can stand alone. Maybe it's just the designer in me. I still haven't got any fresh photos, I have to knit 3 more rows to finish the scarf and I still haven't started picking up stitches on the sweater.


This bag was a simple kit I purchased as I made my return to knitting in June. I belong to a local yahoo group called Hastings Creative Media Community, and a girl working in a local Vegan Cafe called The Rooms posted on the H-C-M-C list for somebody to help start up a knitting group. We decided to call it Knit Jam, as the Rooms is a local music venue although Wednesday evening when we meet it is usually quite quiet. There are only about 6 of us so far if we all turn up. We meet on the 1st and 3rd Wednesday evening every month, although I jiggled December's meetings so that our last meeting is tonight.


This bag is a very easy knit in two balls of Noro Kureyon, and then felted in the washing machine. In fact Sheryl who has learnt ot knit at the group made this in a different colourway for her second project.

Since its 'Naked Tuesday' once again...I thought I'd share this little one word meme that's doing the rounds....what's a meme?

Yourself: sensitive

Your boyfriend: frog

Your hair: short

Your mother: distant

Your father: simple

Your favourite Item: wheel

Your dream last night: vague

Your favorite drink: tea

Your dream car: mini

The room you are in: loud

Your ex: who

Your fear: insanity

What you want to be in 10 years? wiser

Who you hung out with last night? k

What you're not: stupid

Muffins: fresh

One of your wish list items: flyer

Time: short

The last thing you did: knit

What you are wearing: stripes

Your favorite weather: windy

Your favourite book: Weaveworld

The last thing you ate: chocolate

Your life: frantic

Your mood: middling

Your best friend: wool

What are you thinking about right now? loneliness

Your car: Polo

What are you doing at this moment: multi-tasking

Your summer: short

Your relationship status: viable

What is on your TV? dust

What is the weather like? damp

When is the last time you laughed? earlier

Who do you tag? eh?