Obsession ...

You know when you're wasting time browsing on Pinterest, and something catches your eye and you repin it? Then you keep thinking about it and how much you'd like it to be more than just a virtual pin? Well, that happened with this vest.

To tell you the truth, it became a bit of an obsession. There was a teeny, tiny problem though and that was that I had never done Fair Isle knitting before. Then a brainwave struck! I wondered if I could persuade Julie to help me out when she came over for lunch the other day. I might've hogged her attention for a while, I'll admit it *wink wink*

After worrying about tension and not comprehending top and bottom strands, I am now the proud wearer of a garment that I actually knitted myself. I have to confess that I haven't knit anything bigger than a hat or a scarf since I was at college over 27 years ago, and that was a purple mohair number that proved too darn itchy to wear, so I am feeling fairly triumphant about this particular finished item.

All details over on Ravelry.

Now it seems my obsession has moved onto other things and I am truly inspired by Kristina's beautifully neat sock knitting to pick up the dpn's again ...

In the post ...

I love receiving things in the post and this week has been an excellent one for making me rush to the doormat every time I hear the thump of something falling on to it. Or sometimes, more often in the middle of the day, the doorbell rings and there is a terrified delivery person, shaking at the intense barking that ensues every time it rings, ready to hand over something wonderfully anticipated.

I have Belinda to thank for the introduction of this satchel to my collection of bags. I spent many hours browsing the options in terms of colour, style and size and finally opted for this gorgeous metallic version. I'm not a shoe girl, but am definitely a bag girl (not bag lady!).

Next up were some of Celia's amazing Not just for Valentine's Day cards.  My plan for these is to frame them and hang them somewhere prominent in the house. I absolutely love Celia's work and so, for me, this is a great way to be able to own some.

Just as satisfying as receiving things in the post, is making up little parcels to send out to others.  I have finished my final block in the #twitknit scarf swap I have been taking part in. Not all my blocks needed blocking, but this one most definitely did to show off the pattern.

It seems like a little sprinkle of magic happens when you use some pins, a water sprayer and a smidgeon of patience.

I'm hoping that making trips to the post office to make such deliveries is going to become a regular happening soon as the last package to have fallen on my mat this week is very exciting (at least, to me) and after a bit tweaking here and there over the next day or two I will be unveiling a little project that I have been working on recently. I've been dropping hints over on Twitter so it's not exactly a secret if you follow me there ...

Sorry for terrible grainy phone photo, but I was just a tad excited and had to take an immediate photo!

For the love of moss stitch...

Now that the snow is melting, I finally cast off the scarf I have been making for the last few weeks. It's nothing fancy, just a beautiful, hand-painted yarn that required no amount of fancy stitches to show it off (I chose the Blue Bell colour way). I've always loved Julie's palest blue moss stitch scarf that has graced her neck over many a cup of coffee we've shared and so I have shameless replicated something similar.


I had no pattern (none was needed, it is that simple), I just cast on 22 stitches and used up two skeins of yarn. I didn't even wind the skeins, I just hooked them over the handle of my knitting basket and prayed that they wouldn't tangle up into something horrific while I wasn't looking (they didn't).

I can't quite make up my mind whether or not my photos are actually out of focus slightly or the soft fuzziness of the yarn is just doing its thing.

No matter, I intend to wrap myself up with later when I head out to the post office with another piece of knitted goodness that is another blog post in itself.

Stay warm!

Promises...

Phew! I've been trying to post for ages (read: weeks) but kept getting annoying messages about having reached my photo storage limit. It seems to have resolved itself now as this post seems to be out there...

Anyway, I've been taking note of a few promising things that have been getting me through these grey days. Although, today is not one of them - I woke up to the most amazing hoar frost, as did many others judging by the excitement and wonderful photos popping up all over the place.

So, to the point in hand: 

• the promise of spring, in spite of winter having only just set in - my paperwhites, adorned with red cornus stems from the front garden.

• basil seedlings, slowly germinating on the kitchen windowsill, to liven up our pasta and paninis.

• tooth-like crocus bulbs pushing through the soil and gravel on the garden table

• a greenhouse full of autumn sown sweet peas and other seedlings, in anticipation of my exciting new cutting garden next year. (HG meaning from the seed man himself, Mr Higgledy Garden)

• hellebores in my pots and dotted through my front garden with big fat buds ready to open in the coldest season. Will I dare to cut them?

• a skein of sumptuously soft yarn that promises to warm my neck up sometime soon. Very soon, I hope.

A Textured Shawl...

I finally finished the knitting project I cast on way back in the summer while I was on holiday in Majorca. The one that got put on hold when I slipped the disc in my neck and the one that I now cannot wait to drape around my shoulders now that the evenings have got chilly.

I used the Suri merino yarn that was specified in the pattern and it is simply the softest, most beautiful yarn I have ever worked with.

The stitch definition is gorgeous, in spite of it being the tiniest bit fluffy. I particularly love the textured part of the pattern.

My faithful model, Mrs Jennings, is *ahem* a little skinnier than me and so she needs it folded above her neck a little. I blocked it (something I rarely do) as the textured parts did draw the shawl in a tad and  it is now pleasingly triangular. This yarn has a fabulous drape to it.

I bought the pin at Loop earlier in the year, knowing that I had a couple of shawl-type projects in the pipeline. I may have to re-watch Cranford in this now and feel very much in character.

All details Ravelled here.


What's on your needles?

Right now...

• I am enjoying this tiny bit of sunshine we have had in the last couple of days and the way it make the colour of the flowers in the garden more intense.

• I am making room in my day for a little meditative knitting and my new shawl is coming on very nicely.

• I am reading this, as recommended by Nancy, and am loving it already and I'm only a couple of chapters in. It fits in beautifully with Sue's post about the very same subject.

• I am embracing new colours on my feet.

• I am machine-quilting my first queen-sized quilt. My arms are killing me.

• I am rewarding myself with jugfuls of daisies that have mysteriously appeared all over my front garden. Thank you Mother Nature.

On and off the sticks...

I find I enjoy knitting so much more in summer than I do in the colder months. Maybe because it is more portable and I can take it out in to the garden or sit in the conservatory where the light is so much better. I don't ever really knit anything substantial in size so I never need worry about heavy woollen WIP's draping over my lap.




This is LaLa's Simple Shawl and was my last challenge from when Kristina, Nancy and I last visited Kew together. We have decided to use our regular wanderings as a sort of mentoring session to encourage each other on projects or ideas that we are working on or ruminating over. It seems to be a successful way of ticking things off The List.





It looks quite generous draped over Mrs Jennings, my trusty model, but I really would've liked it a little bigger. I have worn it though, and it is just right for adding a little bit of warmth to these chilly days of so-called summer. The linen is soft and supple and I believe it will become butter-soft when I wash it.






As ever, there is another project lined up and this time I needed very little persuasion to purchase some Alice sock yarn. I don't think I have ever felt a yarn so beautifully soft. It is divine. After some deliberation over colour combinations, I went with this warm salmony coral colour paired with a natural cream. Bright summery colours that will give me that much needed yarn-y cuddle around my shoulders.

I seem to have a slight fixation with shawls at the moment and know I am not alone (you know who you all are!).





From tiny beginnings, come forth bigger and softer things. All details over on Ravelry.

Right now...

• I am looking forward to my next knitting project. With thanks to Nancy and Suze for the inspiration.

• I am feeling that good ache that yoga brings. 

• I am at a standstill with my current quilting project as I have run out of the white solid. More on order so ready to pounce on the postman.

• I am drinking my third mug of coffee when I should be thinking about lunch.

• I am scratching the sewing itch by cutting into my Alegria stack that I mentioned here. 

• I am wearing flip-flops even though it is raining.

• I am keeping an hourly daily vigil on my seedlings, willing them to grow despite the low temperatures. They are responding nicely.

• I am dreaming of my cutting patch and the thought of having fresh flowers in abundance around the house in a couple of months.

• I am smiling at the frothiness of the clematis outside the conservatory and loving the lime green stamens against the white of the petals.

• I am full of emotion at the thought of No2's last day of compulsory education tomorrow. A milestone that is making me sad for some reason.

Linen for spring...

I usually have a little knitting project on the back burner. Having worn to death the eternity cowl I made back in the thick of winter, I decided to try it out in a lighter weight for spring.




























The yarn is creative linen from Rowan and I picked the natural colour way. It has knit up much looser than the original, which I like.

In spite of being the 1st of May, and the last month of spring, I am yet to wear it and have still been snuggling up in my yummy alpaca version.

Any ideas for a summery shawl, all you knitters out there?

19 :: rekindled...

I have the knitting bug back!

It's been ages since I knitted anything and since I finished my wrist-warmers I have been planning and dreaming of yarn!

So, next up on the needles was this ribbed cowl, as recommended by Kristina.  Once again, I used Malabrigo worsted, this time in Pink frost, which is a beautiful, soft dusky pink.  All details on Ravelry.

In fact, I love this colour so much, I have something else on the go already using the other skein I bought...

3 :: Toast

Having admired Nancy's wrist warmers from both her blog and in real life I thought it was about time I had a pair of my very own.  They are a satisfyingly quick knit.

I had a ball of Malabrigo worsted yarn in 'Hollyhock' in my stash so it was just a question of choosing a colour to go with it.  The grey shade is Polar Morn and has a wonderful pinky tinge to it in places so I think it complements the Hollyhock perfectly.

This yarn is so beautifully soft and the stitch definition is a dream (to me). Pattern here.

Stitches...

There have been all sorts of different stitches around these parts lately.  Some beautifully soft malabrigo ones on my dpn's--I can feel a knitting phase coming on ...

Remember this? Well, it has been coming along s-l-o-w-l-y, inch by inch, stripe by stripe. Another 14 or 15 inches to go to cover my bed. It is a monster of a blanket and incredibly cosy. I can vouch for this for I am enjoying snuggling under it as I crochet the evenings away.  I hadn't touched it throughout the whole summer and paid for it dearly as quite a few of the colours I am using are now discontinued and it has been a job in itself tracking down odd balls here and there.  There are some pretty impressive stats to go with this blanket which I will finalise on its completion. Miles of yarn, miles!

There are a couple of sewing projects on the go too, which have required some accurate top-stitching.  I find that if I look at the needle as my guide, my stitching seems to go all over the place and so now I have discovered my own trick to fairly neat top-stitching. Not exactly rocket science, but all part of the process of learning!

There's been a new venture in bag-making, with a slight modification of my own due to my preference of a long handle to go over my body rather than a shorter one which invariably falls off my shoulder.

And then there's the stitching that needs to be unpicked and re-done. Sigh.  I'm trying to catch up with the FWQAL and not doing too badly considering how far behind I had fallen.