Flajol's Corner

I AM THE CIRCLE AND THE CIRCLE IS ME

2011-03-13T20:18:00.011Z

“The Noise is a man unfiltered, and without a filter, a man is just chaos walking.”

— Patrick Ness (The Knife of Never Letting Go)

This yarn was a gift from KraftyKoala*, because she knows just how much I LOVE the Chaos Walking trilogy that inspired the colourway. The books are The Knife of Never Letting Go, The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men, by Patrick Ness. If you haven’t read them, I urge you to go buy them now. Read them!

Go on, do it now!

I’ll wait.

OK, so now you know how awesome the books are. The yarn is pretty cool too. I thought it would take ages to find the perfect pattern. I wanted a project that would tie in with the theme, so was delighted when I came across Anne Campbell’s pattern for Circle Socks*.

I finished the first sock and got halfway through the second on a DVD weekend with Woollverine, and as the sock came off the needles, we both agreed that I couldn’t have found a more fitting pattern for the colourway. The circle section on the leg breaks up the colours into a chaotic mixture, with the circles popping forward from the background noise. Then on the smooth foot section the dark colours flash into a controlled spiral. If you’ve read the books, you’ll know why this is perfect - almost like I’d planned it! ;o)

I am soooo pleased with this yarn and these socks. Now I just need to convince Gemma to dye some Eugenides yarn...

Films watched whilst making these socks:

Kind Hearts & Coronets
The Big Lebowski
Legion
Star Wars
The Empire Strikes Back
Return of the Jedi
Fanboys
Outcasts

*Ravelry links

Drive-by photography

2010-07-16T19:52:00.004+01:00

We're just back from the Southern 100 in the Isle of Man. We had a couple of hours to kill before boarding the ferry home, so we did a circuit of the TT course, and I did some drive-by photography. John just shook his head in despair, but it made me giggle.

Oh dear...

2010-07-10T10:31:00.005+01:00

I have been very quiet, haven't I? I've also been busy, so here's a picture montage to show you the highlights of what I've been making in the last twelve months. You'll have to supply the A-Team music yerself though!

Now, I'm working on Haruni, in a luscious eye-searing orange that I picked up from The Yarn Yard at Woolfest last month.

Bento!

2009-03-13T17:17:00.004Z

My first attempt. It's a bit naff, but it made me smile.

2008-07-17T16:41:00.002+01:00

Morecambe Bay Walk

2008-06-29T00:06:00.003+01:00

On Sunday 29th June I'll be walking across Morecambe Bay to raise money for Galloways Society for the Blind. You can find out more and sponsor me here. I'll be very grateful for any contributions. I might even show you some of the things I've been knitting and some of the goodies I picked up at Woolfest yesterday...

Thud!

2008-03-09T17:19:00.004Z

Er, that was me, falling off the yarn wagon. I blame my current project - I'm making a garter stitch jacket from Top Down Sweaters. It's the cover project, in fact. I'm using some of the yarn I bought in New Zealand last year, and I'd spun some to use as a contrast. Unfortunately, the contrast was more of an exact match with one of the dominant colours in my main yarn, and the accent stripe just melted into the background. I ripped back, and went straight to my stash to find something else to use. (See - I was trying to stick to stash.) I found the perfect yarn - Rowan Kid Classic in a lovely pale purple. Only problem? I just have one ball of it, and if the materials list is correct, I may need two. I bought this ball at Bow Peep's, so decided I would break my yarn diet in order to finish this project. No such luck though - they've sold out of this colourway, and of course it's an old colour. So, I decided to go home to rethink.

But not before a few balls of wool jumped from the bargain basket into my arms. I came home with two balls each of Rowan Tapestry in Lead Mine, Sirdar Click in a beautiful hunter green and RYC Cashcotton DK in a pale tweedy green. At 50p per ball, it would have been rude not to buy it. If I use it straight away does it still count as stash? Half a ball of the Tapestry has already been used for a Calorimetry (and I love it - I see many more of these in my future).

The garter stitch jacket? I decided to forge ahead with the Kid Classic. It really is the perfect colour to go with the main yarn I'm using. I suspect I may get away with using the yarn I have - at worst I'll need to leave off the collar trim.

In other knitting news: I made another angel from Angels: A Knitter's Dozen. I made the rug-hooking angel as a gift for my Mum. Except, she's not hooking a rug. She's just standing there looking angelic.

I finally got around to uploading photos of my most recent handspun. My favourite is the toffee coloured stuff.

Pencil Roving...

2008-02-24T12:52:00.004Z

...and why I don't like it.

Essentially, I'm very lazy and I want instant gratification. Pencil roving requires lots of predrafting to get a good result. There's a good tutorial at the Yarn Yard. Stash Junkie has had great results from it, but she has patience. I prefer to spin from fibre that just needs a bit of titivation to get it going. Like I said: lazy!

On the subject of fibre, I've been spinning lots this week. It occurs to me that this would be a sneaky way to add to my yarn stash without actually buying yarn. So, in the interests of full transparency I'm going to add my fibre stash to Ravelry too. Whilst I'm holding fast to the yarn/fibre diet now, I don't trust myself to stay strong, especially when Stash Junkie shows me the gorgeous stuff she got from Spunky Eclectic. Very drool-worthy.

I'll post soon with pictures of homespun. I've taken plenty of photos, but the steam powered desktop has decided it's not speaking to the camera at the moment. Off to soothe them both...

Busy, busy, busy...

2008-02-14T22:42:00.011Z

As usual, it didn't take long for me to fall behind with the blogging. The steadfast sticking to yarn diet is still going strong though. Woo hoo! I did waver somewhat as I tried to finish this:

It's the Hacky Sack Hoodie from Son of Stitch'n'Bitch. I loved knitting it - it was much easier than I expected, and it grew at an alarming rate. In order to keep those stripes in order, you have to fudge it a bit, but that's OK. What's not OK is skeins from the same dyelot not following the same colour sequence throughout. Grr. Mr F love's it, and that's all that matters. I almost fell off the yarn diet wagon when I realised the second sleeve wasn't going to match the first, no matter how much I cut'n'pasted the colours. I searched t'Internet for an extra skein. Of course, the original source had sold out. I knew that - I'd bought the last three skeins of this colourway back in December. I couldn't find a stockist in the UK, and came this close (I'm holding my thumb and forefinger very close together) to buying some from a shop in the US. However, impatience to finish the project won out and Mr F didn't really mind either way, so I finished it up with what I had left. Tada!

I also finished Cookie A's Mingus socks for the January Sockdown on Ravelry's Sock Knitter's Anonymous* group, and I've since started not one, but two pairs of socks for the February Sockdown. It took me about three weeks to notice I'd made a mistake whilst knitting the Mingus socks. Fortunately I made the same mistake on both socks, so at least they match.

I've made another start on Chuck's Cabled Socks by Eunny Jang. I started a pair of these last year, or maybe the year before. Anyway, that attempt didn't get much past an inch of cabling before I gave up. This version uses the same Regia Uni in black, but I'm using some of the Opal natural yarn that I dyed semisolid red instead of the trekking rainbow I used last time.

It's pretty labour intensive, so I decided to cast on a plainer sock that I can knit during breaks at work. The February Sockdown challenge is to knit a pair of socks using a heel construction that is new to me. I've cast on Temptation by Wendy Johnson. I don't think I've done these heels before, but the closer I get to it, the more I wonder if it's the same heel I did on Lucy Neatby's Mermaid Socks. It doesn't look the same, but I'll double check before I submit them as an entry. No picture of my Temptation socks yet. I'm using STR lightweight, and colour is Lucy - inspired by Wendy's own cat!

This also seems to be the month for hauling out those long-forgotten works-in-progress. I finally finished Mum's Marina bag. It's a modified version of a pattern from 25 Bags to Knit by Emma King. I made a similar one for a friend up in Edinburgh, and my Mum tried to snaffle it. That was a couple of years ago! Anyway, It's now finished and delivered to the happy recipient.

Another project rescued from the doldrums is my Napramach bag from Folk Bags. The colours I've chosen aren't as vibrant as the original, but mine is knit from sale yarn I bought at a shop that was closing down, and my choice of colours was fairly limited. It's Rowan Donegal Lambswool, and is thinner than the original yarn used, so I'm guessing the bag is going to be quite a bit smaller than the pattern states. It's working out OK though, so I'm not too worried. I stowed it away with the front mostly done and the back started, so it shouldn't take too much finishing. I'm even inspired to haul out the Sirdar Denim super chunky cardigan that Mum started knitting then passed to me to finish. It would free up a fair chunk of storage space in the cupboard...

*Ravelry links.

So far, so good...

2008-01-15T22:22:00.000Z

Fifteen days and holding! No new yarn purchases made, although the last-minute pre-31st December purchases have only just arrived after a two-week jaunt in the clutches of the Royal Mail. I was starting to get twitchy.

In an attempt to stop the twitching, and inspired by Stash-Junkie, I decided to finish spinning the blue pencil roving I bought from the Yarn Yard last year. I now know that I really don't get on with pencil roving. It all has to be pre-drafted. I want instant gratification, not lots of laborious prep work. I have another bag of pencil roving that I got from the fibre club, so maybe that will convince me otherwise, but for now I'm really not sold on it.

I persevered with the blue stuff though (look at it sitting there all innocent-like) and spent an evening pre-drafting the remaining 2/3 of a 100g hank into a basket.

Even with the pre-drafting it didn't spin too well. In the roving's defence, I have left it sat in a corner for several months, and my heart really wasn't in the prep. It didn't draft particularly well, but that's probably 90% spinner error. At least.

A couple of evenings later and I have this to show for it. There's about 285 yards of 2 ply yarn. I'd guess it's about a light double knit, weight-wise, but may thicken up a little more once the twist has been set. It seems balanced: it hangs straight when I hold the skein up. I'll take more photos for comparison once I've washed and dried the skein.

In other fibre news: I've ditched the evil Henry scarf that I was knitting after fatcat Biscuit decided it would make a good bed. She ragged it around the table a bit first to make it especially comfortable, and managed to pull about a quarter of the 456 stitches off the needles. Hand on heart, I really tried to get it back on the needles, but it just wasn't having it. I couldn't face starting again from scratch. I'll maybe try to make it again for next Christmas, but in a nice soft non-scratchy yarn.

Instead I'm knitting Mingus. Luckily, I discovered the Henry disaster in time to pack the necessary materials for Mingus before Mr F and I set off for a lovely weekend in Yorkshire. We stayed with his sister, and spent the weekend relatively TV/Internet free, so I got loads of knitting done. I cast on before going to bed on Friday, decided Saturday morning that the cuff would be too tight, ripped and started again on larger needles. I knit like the wind! Sock one practically flew off the needles. I knit all day while Mr F, his sister and others discussed race trucks, sidecars and other motorbike stuff. Knit, knit, knit. I came up for air when Mr F asked about local yarn and bookshops. I had to remind him about the No Yarn in 2008 rule. He looked abashed but it was too late. We were informed that not three miles away I could buy Wensleydale Longwool. Direct from the supplier. Who has a little farm with a shop selling the wool. Three miles away.

And I remained where I was, and didn't even ask Mr F in a tiny voice if we might just go along and look at the yarn. Not buy. Just look. How's that for willpower? I thought about it all afternoon though.

I finished Mingus on the way home - I was down to the toe decreases by the time we set off, so didn't need the pattern for the last bit. Here it is, in all its Mingus glory.

What's next? Getting over second sock syndrome. I've knit about ten rows on sock two since Sunday. T'Internet is far too distracting...

My Year of No Yarn

2008-01-01T12:50:00.001Z

It is the time for resolutions, and I’ve been thinking about this one for some time now. I joined Ravelry back in September, dutifully added as many of my knitting books as it would recognise, and added as many projects as I have photos of. I’ve avoided cataloguing my yarn stash, because I know it’s ridiculously large. It’s outgrown the Cupboard of Doom where it first lived, has started taking over the bedrooms, and even has tendrils in the living and dining rooms.

It’s time to take control.

NO YARN PURCHASES IN 2008!

Now, I’ve done New Year diets before. I know how soon my willpower is likely to waver. So here are a few rules to help me stick to the straight and narrow.

1. Trades are allowed, but the yarn/books/fibre I send out must come from my existing stash.

2. Yarn gifts don’t count. If people are filled with a burning need to give me yarn, who am I to deny them the warm glow that comes from giving?

3. Wonderwool (if I make it this year) and WoolFest are exempt from My Year of No Yarn restrictions. However, I will only take whatever cash I have managed to set aside for each event, and no plastic will be involved in purchases made.

4. Any failures of willpower will be declared here and you can throw virtual tomatoes at me. Be careful not to hit the new yarn.

With that, I shall leave you with pictures of some of the projects I completed in 2007. Oh, and I will try to be a better blogger!

The Christmas Angel

2007-05-12T18:22:00.000+01:00

Better late than never! Here are a couple of photos of the lacy Christmas Angel that I made for a friend. The photos aren't fantastic, but you can get an idea of how it looks. It was knitted using crochet cotton, and was stiffened with cornstartch over a polystyrene form.

The pattern was taken from Angels: A Knitter's Dozen by Gerdine Strong.

Here I Am!

2007-05-11T21:52:00.000+01:00

New Zealand did not eat us up. We finally made our way home. I actually sat down and wrote a nice long post, complete with pictures, which the computer promptly ate. I just haven’t had the heart to try again since. However, I’ve been reading everyone else's posts as usual, and the guilt’s starting to kick in. So here it is: what Flajol has been doing since her return.

Wait, wait, wait. Maybe I should backtrack and fill you in a bit more on the New Zealand trip. If you’re really interested, go here for the complete diary. What you really want to know about is the stash, isn’t it? About German Angora bunnies and how to shave them. The plentiful friendly patchwork shops. Ashford’s Craft Village. Spinning fibre. Spinning wheels. Giant spinning wheels. Yarn shops. The Tin Shed. I’m starting to feel a bit dizzy. Rather than give you a blow-by-blow account of the many foraging opportunities, instead I’ll give you a photo montage, and you’ll have to imagine “Eye of the Tiger” playing in the background.

I finished the Stars and Stripes socks, but didn’t make any headway on a large knitting project whilst in NZ. However, I did manage to get most of the way through another pair of socks. This is sock two, and has been languishing on top of the sock basket since we got home.

I’ve been playing with the spinning wheel again. It had a bit of an accident while we were away. My brother blames the cat, the cat blames my brother. It doesn’t really matter though because it’s fixed. I’ve been spinning some of the fibre I got at Woolfest 06. I finally spun up the Gotland curls. Um. Hang on. I’ve missed a bit again. While we were in New Zealand we stayed over at Ashburton, to visit the Ashford Craft Village. Where they make the wheels. I got a bit excited. They have a giant wheel outside!

Anyway, I tried out an Ashford Traditional and fell in love. I couldn’t fit one in the case, so I started trawling eBay as soon as we got home. I’m now the proud keeper of an older model Traditional. It spins like a dream and it came with loads of extras. Amongst those extras were two sets of carders, so I could finally have a go at carding. I tackled the Gotland curls which had almost made me scream in frustration when I tried to spin them from the lock. I’m a beginner and I didn't know any better.

Carding is fun. At least it’s fun at the moment. I guess it could get old quickly, but I’ve only tried it for an afternoon. The Gotland spun nicely, and I even tried Navajo plying to keep the colours pure. The resulting yarn is about an aran weight (I think that would be sport weight across the Atlantic), and it's a bit lumpy and snarly, but there’s enough to make a woolly hat for Mr Flajol. Mr F had a close encounter with a set of shears while we were in New Zealand, and may be feeling the cold this winter.

The Gotland is on the right. The green yarn is spun from a bag of fibre I bought at Texere last year, and the centre hank is a mystery fibre I picked up at Preston Car Boot Sale. It's sheen and handle makes me suspect that it's Merino.

I’ve still got the old Haldane Lewis wheel. It’s very pretty, is a bit wobbly, and I’d love to keep it but it is taking up a fair bit of space. I know someone who would love it, but I need to figure out how to get it to her. She is driving now, so maybe I could talk her into a trip south of the border. The spinner who gave it to me doesn’t want it back, and I feel like I should pass the wheel on with the same good wishes.

It’s not going until I’ve finished spinning this beautiful red/orange/cream fibre though. It’s like fire through the fingers, and I think the small amount of white will calm it right down into something knittable. I only have 100g of it, so I’m thinking of using it in a luxury version of The Heathen Housewife's triangle blanket. How many years do you reckon it would take me to spin and knit enough for a blanket? I wonder if I can talk KraftyKoala into dyeing luxury fibres for spinning?

I started on a small blanket for my brother’s prospective baby. This isn't the same brother I was knitting for recently. Anyway, the blanket is small, soft, stripy and knitted with Sirdar’s Sublime yarns. I don’t have a picture of it yet, so you'll have to use your imagination until further notice.

All knitting was cast aside when I was hit with an irresistible urge to cross stitch. I don’t know what brought it on, but I’m half way through a project – can’t wait to get it on a wall – and I have a stack of other projects lined up. I’ve been overcome by an urge to stitch lots of pictures of Victorian style houses. Those big American Victorian houses you see in San Francisco. The one I’m stitching now vaguely reminds me of the house in ‘Charmed’. I’ll not reveal the stack of other patterns I want to do – I don’t want to scare you. Too many projects: not enough time.

I’m also back into patchwork. I’ve excavated the sewing machine from its corner, and set it up in the dining room. I’m sure Mr F is already sick of seeing it, but I think it’s here to stay for a while yet. I have lots of ideas buzzing around, not to mention a few bags of exchange blocks that need to be put together. I went to a local quilty exhibition where I won a football quilt. Lovely! It's gone to a footie fan, so I know it will be well loved.

Well, I think that’s enough for now. I’ve been very quiet, but that’s all changed. I finish my BSL exams next week and I’ll have much more free time. I’m going to make an effort to post more regularly, so check back in a few days for more updates on crafty progress!

Feast or Famine

2007-02-12T21:46:00.000Z

Nothing for ages then two posts in as many days. From one extreme to the other!

Yesterday we went into Masterton, where I visited Morphodae Creative Fibre Crafts. I introduced myself to the owner, Marlene, who is a good friend of the lass I’m staying with for the moment. Mr F and I had a good chat with her about New Zealand, traveling in general, then about the serious business of fibre. I made a few purchases, which I thought was very restrained considering the very reasonable price of spinning fibre here compared to prices back home.

Clockwise from the top left:
200g of wool/silk mix. It’s 75% black halfbred wool mixed with 25% rainbow silk noils.
100g of 50/50 silk/mohair mix in Amethyst.
100g of unknown wool in Autumn Leaves.

All three are from the Little Wool Co. in New Zealand. The colours are a bit washed out in the photos, because the sun is so bright, but trust me, they’re all lovely.

SOCKS!!!

2007-02-11T18:51:00.000Z

I've been a bad blogger. No posts, no pictures, not even a phone call to let you know I'm OK. But fear not, Flajol is back! With socks, no less. My posts over the next month or so will be basic with not much chat. Mr Flajol and I are travelling around New Zealand, so my time online is limited, and I'm concentrating most of my Internet energies on keeping our travel blog up to date.

I finished the Ripple Weave socks some time back, but have only just got around to taking a picture of them. Here they are, artfully arranged to hide the stonking great mistake I made that I'm too lazy to rip out and reknit. I managed to repeat the wrong 10 rows just at the instep, and didn't notice until I started grafting the toe. I am not ripping it out. I can and will live with the mistake. Really. I can.

The pattern is Ripple Weave Socks from Vogue Knitting (the sock issue from last year - can't remember which issue number). The yarn is a hand-dyed sock yarn I bought at Woolfest last year. I wasn't sharp enough to write down the vendor's name, so can't tell you who dyed this yarn so beautifully.

Here is my current project. The pattern is the basic sock pattern that came with a ball of Opal sock yarn. The yarn is Fortissima Colori Socka in colourway 1776. Stars and stripes! I'm just at the gusset for sock two, so it's a tiny bit further on than in the photo. If we do any major driving today, I might get sock number two finished, and I can start on a new project.

The new project: it's a toss up between Chuck's Cabled Socks, or another Birch. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions.

The Evil of Tagging

2007-01-23T19:38:00.000Z

"Once you have been tagged, you have to write a blog with 5 facts about yourself. Then choose 5 people you want to tag and list their names. Then leave a comment on their blog letting them know they’ve been tagged."

The evil Stash Junkie has tagged me. My usual reaction to tagging is to studiously ignore it, mainly because I often can't think of anything interesting to say, as I shall now prove. In light of my non-tagging policy, I won't be chasing other people down and shooting 'em with my tag gun.

Fact # 1: I'm afraid of balloons*. Not the big, stick-a-basket-under-it-so-people-can-sit-in-it-and-defy-death type balloons. My dentist has a wonderful poster of a hot air balloon festival on his ceiling. It does wonders for taking your mind off what's happening in your mouth. Crikey, that doesn't sound right... Anyway, those balloons are cool, although you'd never get me to travel in one.

Nope. I'm afraid of party balloons. It stems from childhood, and that's all I'm saying.

Fact # 2: I'm good at starting stuff, but not quite so good at finishing stuff, as anyone who's been following this blog at all will already know. My enthusiasms overtake me, with boredom in rapid pursuit. What I need is a good dose of staying power. My mother was right about me. She still is right. She has staying power.

Fact # 3: I have a terrible habit of interrupting people without realising it. I usually realise what I've done about three hours later when it's far too late to apologise about it.

Fact # 4: I think fart jokes are reallllllly funny. You know you do too. Pull my finger. G'wan. I said PULL MY FINGER!

Fact # 5: I was a teenage metalhead. All black clothes, but not Goth. I dyed my hair black, and looked like Den out of The Comic Strip Presents... Bad News.

He's second from the left, in case you were wondering. I didn't have the leather gloves, but I did have the studded wristbands, armbands, bullet belts...

*****************************************

*Also: clowns.

Scarf overdose

2006-12-27T10:29:00.000Z

It had to happen. All those scarves in such a short space of time. I OD'd on scarfy evilness, and now I don't want to pick up the needles. I got half way through knitting a blue elephant, and have put it to one side. (Not lifesize - just 10" tall.) Worked a few half-hearted rows on the dark red basket weave socks. I need to get my knitting mojo back.

Remember the ninepatch lap quilt for Mr F.'s Grandad? The one that I was going to quilt while Mr F. was away racing in Pembury? I procrastinated as much as I could, and finally got down to work on it at 3.30pm on Christmas Eve. Laid it out, pinned the layers together, quilted it on the machine, and put on the binding and label. All done and finished in time for bed. I have to admit though, that's cutting it very fine even for me. I did get Mr F. to take a couple of pictures, but we were both well into the Christmas spirit by then, and the photos came out a bit fuzzy.

I'll post again soon with the photos if they're salvagable, along with photos of a lacy angel I made for the Christmas season.

Far have I travelled....

2006-11-21T20:18:00.000Z

Well, actually, I haven't been anywhere other than to work and back. I don't have any excuses for my silence other than, y'now, I'm really lazy.

I have been knit, knit, knitting. What have I been knitting? Scarves, because it's getting to that time of year. In fact, I went a little scarf crazy.

Here's a scarf in Rowan Tapestry (shade 174). It's a simple broken rib pattern, and the scarf is only 4 inches or so wide. Two balls were enough to make this scarf which should be just long enough to wrap around twice without creating too much bulk, and the ends will tuck into the front of yer jacket. Excellent. Tapestry is a beautiful yarn to work with. It's really soft and lustrous. However, it does not like to be ripped. Not at all! How do I know? Let's just say that even a simple stitch pattern can fox you when you're trying to knit in the dark whilst watching a screen god strut his stuff, and whilst trying to keep up with the plot in a foreign language film.

I've just picked up another couple of skeins of this yarn - one in the red colourway and one in icy blues. I intend to do the same pattern again, but two rows of each colour down the length of the scarf, so that the shading travels along the whole length. I've done the same in the Noro Kureyon scarf below. The colours aren't too good in the door photo, so have a look at the one where I held the scarves at arm's length and tried to make it look like someone else took the photo.

OK. I obviously didn't plan it well when I took the photos. The Kureyon scarf is the one with the striping effect running through it. I used two different colours, no idea what shades, and knitted in a nice chunky rib to make a skinny scarf. The other scarf is made from Noro Silk Garden. Both balls were the same shade, but no idea what that shade might be. I ordered the second ball from a completely different supplier than the first ball, and almost twelve months later - they were both the same dye lot. Woo hoo! Yarn karma. Of course, if the scarf was for me, and not a gift, it would have been impossible to get the same dye lot. Yarn karma.

Here are two scarves in Artesano Alpaca. The pattern is from Simply Knitting, issue 17, I think. I knit the first one in rust without the beads, then the second in mid grey with beads. This is my first attempt at beaded knitting, and looks much nicer wih the right sized beads. My first attempt had me using size 9 beads. Tiny. I managed to get them onto the yarn, and even knit about 6 inches of scarf before I gave up and tried again. I now have an industrial sized supply of the correct beads, and guess what folks are getting for Christmas this year...

Some eye candy to finish with. I have a friend who emigrated to Turkey a couple of years ago, and recently I've been sending her books in English as they're not so easy to come by in the area where she lives. She's over here in cold, wet Lancashire for a quick visit, and she popped in to work today with a gift for me. Real hand-knit Turkish socks from Turkey! I know, it's sad to get so excited about socks. But: real hand-knit Turkish socks from Turkey!!! They are super soft and very warm. They are far too nice to wear under boots, so I think these will be snuggly socks for those cold wintry nights when you want to curl up on the sofa with a hot chocolate, a good book, and the lap quilt.

Oh - I've also been knitting little girly cardigans for my nieces, but no pictures of those yet.

Okay - I'm off for some of that hot chocolate I mentioned earlier.

Clocks back

2006-10-29T18:12:00.000Z

It's clocks back day today. We've got an extra hour to play with. What did you do with yours?

I put this together.

OK, it took more that an hour. It even took more than two. I'm very pleased with it, and hope Mr Flajol's Granddad likes it as much as I do. It's going to be his Christmas gift this year.

I'm part of an online quilting community who regularly swap patchwork blocks with each other, and these homespun squares are from our most recent exchange. It includes blocks from the UK, USA, Canada, New Zealand and France. I love that something so homey and comforting has been created from the efforts of people from around the world, who have been brought together by their common love of quilting and a particular series of books. It just needs to be quilted - a job for next weekend while Mr Flajol disappears off to Pembury to watch the racing.

I'll also be working on the lap quilt I put together after our last exchange. The brief was to send in blocks based on Amish patchwork patterns. We all bought black background fabric from the same source, so that the blocks would go together well, and each announced which block we would do so as to avoid two people making the same pattern. I chose Shoo Fly - it's the black and orange block, bottom centre. When I got the blocks back, I had eleven different ones, including my own. I didn't want to put two the same in there to make it up to twelve, so I put together the pink and blue Amish Bars block on the centre of the second row. I really enjoyed researching the patterns for this exchange, and I'd love to make a full size Amish style quilt. They really are beautiful. Until then, I'll be happy with my international mini version!

Along came Rose

2006-10-20T09:34:00.000+01:00

Rose arrived on Saturday 14th October - all the family doing well. I've only seen photos so far, because Mr Flajol had a stinking cold at the beginning of the week, then he rather generously shared it with me. I've been sat at home feeling sorry for myself for the last few days, willing myself better so I can go visit the new addition to the family.

I have done a little knitting, but I've been feeling so crappy that the last few days have consisted of me lolling around on the sofa, drinking lots of fluids, and doing my dying swan act. Mr Flajol is one of those blokes who doesn't easily admit to illness, and doesn't do lying around feeling sorry for himself. Not me, though! If I'm poorly sick, the whole world better know it, and bring me offerings of chicken soup*, ice cream** and luxury yarns***.

I did finish the surprise baby jacket at the weekend. It lacks only buttons and a baby to fill it. It's probably going to be at least the middle of the week before I get to visit with my new niece. I want to be sure Mr F. and I are both completely disease free before we go a-visiting. On the plus side, it will give me time to whip up a little something for niece number one.

Pictures next time. I'm simply too too feeble to go downstairs and take photos of knitting in progress.

Adieu from the plague house.

**************************

*Actually, what the whole world should bring me is tomato soup, because we all know chicken soup is second only to mushroom soup in grossness, unless it's that clear noodle soup flavoured with chicken stock. Best to stick with tomato soup. It avoids tantrums.

**Any flavour but chocolate or mint. Unless it's real chocolate instead of that crappy chocolate flavour. I will eat mint ice cream, but only if there's no other flavour available.

***Who am I kidding? It doesn't have to be luxury. I am a yarn ho.

Newsflash from the frogpond

2006-10-14T00:49:00.002+01:00

The cotton sock is dead. Long live the cotton sock.

I finally tried on the Lana Grossa cotton sock. Despite its ribby goodness, it felt like it was trying to cut off the end of my foot.

Rippit.

Rippit.

Ripped.

Still waiting on the baby...

2006-10-12T11:49:00.000+01:00

My brother's baby was due almost a week ago, and we're still waiting. Come on out, already! We're all waiting to meet you! The shawl is delivered and ready to receive said baby - now I've got to get to work on some clothing. I have Elizabeth Zimmermann's pattern for the baby surprise jacket sitting here, waiting to stun me with it's magic folding goodness. Unfortunately, I also have a pile of projects crying out for attention.

I finished the first of the Ripple Weave socks, and I've worked the first pattern repeat on number two already. I also cast on a cotton sock in Lana Grossa Meilenweit whilst I was in Edinburgh. I needed a simple sock for the train journey: one I could work without constantly referring to a chart. I'm working this one in k2, p2 rib all the way down the leg and plan to take the rib pattern along the top of the foot.

I was very well behaved in Edinburgh. I managed to squeeze in three visits to HK over the course of the week. I caved on my second visit, and bought the Lana Grossa sock yarn, a ball of Opal solid in a very girly pink, and a couple of sets of Boye's shiny metal dpns (love those colours!). My friend dragged me along for a third visit - she was being a complete yarn ho, and wanted to get more of the sale yarn she'd found on our first visit to the shop. I escaped this time with a fantastic knitting zine, called Take Back the Knit. I'm itching to make the summer wrap and the goth-style gloves.

Now I'm off to PAD in Preston to check out the National Knitting Week exhibition - Endangered Species. Looks interesting. Of course, all the workshops are on days when I'm working or already have other arrangements. Grrr.

I'm never going to learn how to crochet at this rate!

The Shawl...

2006-10-01T22:23:00.000+01:00

I finished the shawl for my brother's new baby today. It's a shawl I've made several times before, but never with the emotional investment that this one has. My first nephew or niece (the jury is still out).

The pattern is from an old Patons' book that my Nanna gave me years ago. In the late eighties she had a couple of heart attacks followed by a stroke, and the doctors told her she couldn't knit any more because of the strain it placed on her heart. She gifted me with her entire knitting stash and paraphernalia. I wasn't sure it was a good idea that she give it all away, but I figured nobody else in the family was interested in knitting, so I might as well take care of her stuff until she changed her mind. She never asked for any of it back, but when she had to move in with my parents for 24/7 care, she'd evidently ignored the doctors' advice and built up a new stash. Yay go Nanna! She'd been a knitter and craftswoman since childhood, and I know it cost her dearly when she thought she had to give it all up.

Well, this pattern is one of my old favourites for new babies. As I've said, I've knitted it more than once, but I only ever knit it for babies special to me. It's a beautiful shawl. The only thng I don't like is the seam, and I'm trying to figure out a seamless version. I am always, without fail, impressed by the end product.

This was knit with Sirdar Snuggly 2-ply. It's a nylon/acrylic (55/45) mix so it washes well and shouldn't turn into a felted ball in the machine. I've dressed it to be a bit larger than advised - 60" diameter instead of "50 - but I think it looks better for it.

Here's a close-up of the feather and fan pattern.

I haven't done any work on the Ripple Weave socks, but you haven't seen them yet, so here's a lack of progress picture...

Sorry for the paucity of new posts, but I've spent the last couple of weeks preparing for a big interview and presentation. I didn't get the job, but never mind - more time to knit! Yes, I am gutted, but we'll not dwell on that.

I'm off to Edinburgh at the end of the week. Knitting, reading, shopping. Maybe a little bit of drinking and making merry too. Well, OK, lots of drinking and making merry.

I also plan to hit a couple of fibre suppliers. More news soon...

No new knitting today...

2006-09-19T19:28:00.000+01:00

Which is not to say I haven't been knitting. I just forgot to take photos of it. I'm about to start on the edging of the lace shawl for my brother's soon-to-arrive bairn. I've done zero rows on the Ripple Weave socks, which does nothing to take me closer to some of those seductive new designs in Knitty. Not to mention Eunny Jang's scrumptious Bayerische socks. Photos next time. If I remember.

Last November I went to Texere Yarns, and spent my 'wool tokens' (birthday cash) on a selection of dyed rovings. I didn't have a spindle or a wheel at this point, but I knew I would have a spindle soon, and intended to have some lovely fibres to practice on. I didn't really get on with the drop spindle, but as soon as I acquired a wheel I set to. I haven't had any lessons as such, and it shows.

The wheel was a gift from a friend at work, who got a new wheel herself earlier this year. The one she's passed on to me is a Haldane Lewis. Other than that, I know nothing. She gave me a quick lesson on its setup and workings, but I've learned mostly by doing, watching short tutorials on t'Internet, reading and watching a very serene lady spinning away at Woolfest.

Before the revelations of Woolfest, my experience with the wheel was frenetic, panicked and full of frustration. I managed to spin yarn, but not yarn I would ever want to knit with. Here are my first attempts at wheel-spun yarn. I think the orange shade was first, then the pink.

I was so pleased with it when I first made it, until I started looking around on t'Internet and saw other beginners' first attempts. I knew I had a lot to learn.

After several more attempts, producing similar results, I trotted along to Woolfest where I happened upon a lady who sat there, calmly spinning as though the bustle and noise that surrounded her didn't exist. I commented to my friend that my spinning attempts were much more frenzied than that. The spinner overheard me, continued in her spinning, and advised me that I should try to relax into it rather than battle with the wheel.

In the few days after Woolfest, I hauled out the wheel from its corner. I pulled out more of the Texere roving, and set to. After a few false starts, I finally managed to ease the tension from my shoulders and back, and relaxed into it. It worked! My yarn is still bumpy, lumpy, and Not Suitable For Socks, but it looks like it's gettting there. It's an odd colour mixture. Here it looks mostly blue, but it's actually a bright turquoised plied with grey. Not an awful lot of thought went into the colour selection - I just used what I had in my stash.

My next skein was even better. Still not perfect, but much more even throughout. I'm pretty pleased with it. It's a much nicer shade of green than it appears in this photo.

Now I've got almost a full bobbin of my friend's undyed romney roving spun into singles, and I look forward to turning it into usable yarn. The singles are much thinner than anything I've managed so far, but there are inconsistencies in the thickness of the singles. I'm hoping it will even out in the plying...

It's all Stash-Junkie's fault

2006-09-11T18:42:00.000+01:00

I wanted to post a comment about the lovely Clapotis being knitted by Stash-Junkie, but BlogSpot won't let me play unless I join the gang. Well, OK, but if this blogging thing spirals, I want everyone to know whose fault it is.

Talking of things spiraling out of control, I've just been having a squiz at the new edition of Knitty. More socks! Woo hoo! (Like I'm ever going to knit up all the patterns I've already earmarked for attention.) I l-u-r-v-e the Red Herring socks, and I'm already wondering whether to ditch the Ripple Weave socks from the latest issue of Vogue Knits in favour of the glorious Cable Net design. But no. I am all about the finishing of projects. Absolutely nothing new until I finish the Ripple Weaves. I will remember how I wanted to rip my Jaywalkers off my needles as soon as I saw the seductive twisted-rib goodness of Ripple Weave. I will remember how I finished my Jaywalkers, how I love them very much, and how very glad I am that I didn't consign them to the Cupboard of Doom.

Here thay are in all their green loveliness.

Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina
Yarn: 4-ply silk bourette, hand dyed by Knitting Goddess Yarns.

I used 2.5mm needles, instead of 2.25, and cast on 84 stitches. I missed off the rib at the top of the sock - I've already knit a pair of these for a friend, and wasn't too keen on the way the fabric behaved. These haven't been blocked yet, so the pixie points are still a little curly, but I'll sort that out on their first wash'n'block.

The socks look very wide in the leg and foot, but I needed to allow for the inelasticity of the silk.

Next time: Pictures of the Ripple Weave socks in progress, and a peek at the lace shawl I'm knitting for my brother's new baby. Will the excitement never cease?