In a spin

One of the things I bought at Wingham was 200g of this Jacobs roving. The colourway is called humbug and it is all natural colours blended together.

Following my recent frustrations with generally overspinning and plying yarn I decided to have a proper look at how my wheel was running. I spent quite a bit of time sanding the new bobbins and oiling the workings so that the belt turned them properly. The result is properly wound singles.

And sensibly plied yarn. Rather than the tight angry mess I had before.

I feel so pleased with myself. I can't stop looking at the finished article because it seems so implausible that I could have made it. I will really enjoy knitting it up. I think it is going to become a Christmas scarf for a man, so I won't give any more of my plans away.

I really want to spin some more but I must concentrate and get some work done. Hooray for me!

Sunday Woolly Sunday

So far my new year's resolution is going quite well. I've been working less and I definitely feel better. It may mean that I have had a few mornings when I have had to run round like crazy, but my weekends and evenings have been much improved. 3 days spent on a course, Y9 exams and reports are seriously testing me this week. I nearly caved in this morning and did some marking, but I stayed strong. Tomorrow I will have to work but hopefully that will set me straight till half term.

Last Sunday Becca, Emily and I drove down to Wentworth in South Yorkshire to visit Wingham Wool Work. We met my mum there and had a lovely time pouring over the books and yarn in the shop and the three sheds full of fibre in a range of colours. We also had a look at their selection of wheels. I was so excited in fact that I forgot to take any pictures of us.

I was especially happy to be on nearly-home turf. The owners were very welcoming and extremely tolerant of our endless browsing. I would definitely recommend a visit, whether you're a knitter or a spinner.

I made a few interesting purchases and manage to resist the urge to splash out on a folding Kromski wheel which seemed to overcome everyone else there. Photos to follow (when I get some daylight).

This was all followed by 3 days at the National Science Learning Centre in York playing with fun science experiments, then a couple of evenings spent playing with the Wii purchased by my husband. All in all I feel like I've had a rather self-indulgent week.

Like academics in a book shop

Last weekend Graeme and I took a trip up to Alnwick. We had lunch in the Alnwick Treehouse Restaurant which was lovely, but the main reason for going was to visit the amazing Barter Books second hand book shop. I can truly say I've never seen anything quite like it. It has an amazing selection of books, including many rare books and first editions. It's inside the old station and totaly fills the space.

I had a good look through some really old science books. I was hopefuly of finding some interesting knitting books but was sadly dissappointed to find that I had been beaten to it, leaving only a couple of horrible 80s colourwork books. I did find a lace edgings book that still had the needles attached that came with it. I also picked up a couple of general craft books which had some detailed instructions and diagrams for dress making and advice about potential gifts to make for any friend who "does for herself".

A work of advice for anyone who decides to visit Barter Books, and it is definitely worth it. The place is freezing so make sure you wear your coat. I was wearing my aran jumper and thought that would be enough. By the end I was shivering.

Boo!

Some topological magic. Elizabeth Zimmerman's Baby Surprise Jacket in its just-off-the-needles form.

And then in its folded ready to seam state. Only two short shoulder seems and the buttons to do. Now that's magic.

Seperated at Birth?

Based on the basic doll and various patterns from the Knitted Icons books by Carol Meldrum, made for Glittrgirl's birthday.

The many moods of Mr Dog

Mr Dog, a shining light of optimism hoping that the new term will be easier and more enjoyable.

Mr Dog, green with envy for all the people who are still in bed at 6 am in the morning.

Mr Dog, angry because he knows there's another 6 weeks of getting up at 6 am to come before half term.

Mr Dog, relaxed because he is confident in his abilities.

Dickenson Pullover

I finally finished it. I can't say it is the most flattering look for someone of my figure, it also feels way too big, but I really enjoyed knitting it and it's really cosy and warm. It is the ideal jumper for keeping warm whilest working during the cold winter months and for going for walks on cold days.

I don't think I ever felt annoyed or resentful of this jumper while I was knitting it, even when I ran out of yarn. I do really like it, even if it does make me look very wide. I'm wondering whether dying it to a dark brown, navy or maroon might be more flattering. I'd appreciate some oppinions.

Shopping Bags

I did say before Christmas that I hadn't made many presents this Christmas. One thing I did make was a set of shopping bags, inspired by Kay and Amber's efforts (though not following the instructions), by a desire to use my neglected sewing machine, and by a rather nice Svalbard shopping bag bought for me by my mother-in-law. I'm quite proud of my efforts. They're quite sturdy. I was going to make some more but I managed to get my sewing machine jammed with the fur from the top of Christmas stockings. I'll get it sorted evenutally.

Working in a winter wonderland

It wasn't until I sat down and started reading other people's blogs today that it occurred to me that I should probably have marked the new year with some kind of end of year post. Maybe the fact that it hadn't occurred to me before is a measure of how much regard I actually pay to new year. It has to be one of my least favourite celebrations, mostly because of the enormous pressure to do something original and exciting, while getting ridiculously drunk. All this is topped off by having to kiss a lot of inebriated strangers. I find that nothing you do ever really lives up to expectations. The advantage of being older and boring and married is that I can now legitimately stay in with my close family, eat a nice roast dinner, drink bubbly and play pictionary. Very nice it was too.

For the first time in several years I actually have a new year's resolution. It is to work less during my own time. That means getting over my worries about lesson quality and trusting a little more to my abilities. Some of my best lessons have been ones I have spent only a short amount of time preparing. I've not made the best of starts. I spent today preparing Y7, 8 and 9 lessons in a highly inefficient manner, with about 50% of the time spent staring out fo the window and running over to take pictures of the snow. I do like to get ahead.

The snow today has been fab. Sadly it's now melting. It's 1.9 °C out there at the moment. During the middle of the day it was two or three inches deep and looked magical. The kids on the road were having a great time pulling each other round on sledges and having snowball fights. We don't get nearly enough snow these days. Although I don't want to grumble too loudly as I do have a long commute. Here are a selection of snowy scenes.