Snow Rabbits

My mum and I went to Church on Easter Sunday morning leaving Graeme and my Dad at home. When we came back we found invaders in the garden.

Elephants and Yarn

Last weekend Isabella turned 1 and in celebration of this I knitted her an elephant from Ysolda Teage's Elijah pattern. I used Rowan Cashsoft DK. I really enjoyed knitting it and unlike most knitted toys there was very little seaming to be done. The stiches for the arms and legs were picked up from the body so there's no chance of them falling off from too much love. I think I might knit another.

While in Beadnell I started spinning some merino which I bought from Scottish Fibres. It is a blend of colours, the colourway is called Spring and it does remind me very much of some of the spring flowers that are around at the moment. I feel like there should be a green and yellow colourway to go with it. The first 2 skeins ended up a heavy DK weight, but the third skein which a finished at the weekend ended up much lighter. I'm not too worried by it. I think the first two will become a scarf and the last one a pair of gloves which actually works out quite well.

I am finding that as term goes on I am getting more and more tired and less able to concentrate on making things. I feel much less creative as I result. Yesterday I decided to bring out the long neglected boring marathon projects I've been hiding from. Maybe I can finish my hemp cardigan before it gets warm enough to wear it. Wish me luck.

Knitting Retreat

Last weekend was our second annual knitting retreat in Beadnell, Northumberland. Despite one of us not making it through various confusions, and one of use having to go home early due to illness I had a lovely weekend. It was really relaxing to get away from work and spend some time with friends in lovely surroundings. As last year I completely forgot to take any pictures of people doing stuff. Here is Frobisher having a cheeky pint.

We did a bit of exploring.

On Saturday afternoon, Becca, Deborah, Glenda and I decided to go for a walk on the sandy beach without thinking about the tides. We had some interesting scrambles across sand dunes.

Another FO I forgot about

Noro Silk Garden Lite scarf for Kay (I didn't want to blog it until after she'd got it). I bought the yarn at Ring O'Rosie at the coast and got the pattern free. I did love the colours.

FO

I'm a bit behind with my posts, mainly because I've been lazy about taking photos. I finished this jumper over a week ago and haven't got round to taking a photo till now.

The pattern is Tubey from Knitty, without the stripes and the yarn is Jeager Extra Fine Merino Aran. I'm still not convinced that this is the most flattering jumper shape for me, but it only took a couple of weeks to knit so it's got that in it's favour. It's also very warm and comfortable. I knitted it on long DPNs, which was an excellent alternative to circular needles for someone like me who knits with one needle under the arm.

I also never mentioned being visited last weekend by my good friend Caitriona from my Leicester days. It was lovely to see her. I miss my friends a lot. Here she is in the stocks in Hexham.

The fruits of my labours....

After a frosty, -6°C start on Tuesday morning Becca and I finally got going on constructing my raised beds in our back garden. We did one and dug the holes for 2 more. I made another by myself later that afternoon. This afternoon I completed the third and then managed to do the forth, with help from Graeme. It was a lot of effort but I am really pleased with the results. It isn't until you step back that you realise quite how sloping this area of the garden is. I'm really looking forward to being able to plant some vegetables in neat rows in a few weeks time.

I also managed to finish and block the Fleur Cardigan from Miss Bea's Colours, which I've been knitting in Jeager Extra Fine Merino DK for my goddaughter, Millie. I like the way the flower pattern looked after blocking. I was a bit worried it was just going to end up looking a complete mess at first.

I've really enjoyed my half term holiday. Last day tomorrow, then back to work. At least we're now half way through the academic year.

Not my FO

Yesterday G and I met up with my parents in Richmond, North Yorkshire, which is somewhere in between our two houses. My mum brought me this lovely jumper she'd knitted from Twilley's Freedom Spirit. She knitted it for herself but it turned out to be too short in the body. Sometimes being short is useful.

We had a really good day, apart from what was possibly the worst Sunday dinner I've ever had in a pub. It was the Castle Tavern in the market place. Disgusting soup, horrible yorkshire pud, dry, overcooked vegetables. I don't recommend it. We really enjoyed seeing Richmond itself. I don't really remember anything about last time we went, when I was a child.

Sheepy Art by MacKenzie Thorpe

Happy Is Life, Sun On My Back

Winter Romance

A Good Morning Kiss

High On The Land

Sheep In Love

Sheltering

There's a hole in my sock......

Dear Dina, dear Dina....

I unballed this pair of socks this morning to find this! I was shocked. They seemed fine last time I wore them but somehow this happening while they were being washed and dried and I never even noticed till now. This may seem totally insignificant to most people but I haven't been knitting socks that long, and this is the first time any of my socks has developed a hole. I have a feeling this is going to be the first of many holes that will be appearing over the next few months. Fortunately I still have this yarn for this pair somewhere so I will be repairing this at the weekend.

Is it time to come out of hibernation?

I've been on a course today in Durham which finished at 3pm. I was driving home in the sunshine and I started to feel cheerful. When I got home it was still light and I went out into the garden and looked at the shoots that have grown from the bulbs my mum and I planted in October. It feels warmer. The possibility that it might not be cold, dark and rainy forever suddenly seems believable. I can't wait for the Spring and Summer.

Thinking

I managed to restrain myself from working too much this weekend and had a rather pleasant time visiting the coast with Pinkphish and meeting up with my friend Jackie. I also had chance to do some more spinning using the rainbow merino roving I bought from Wingham.

I finished the two thinking dresses I was knitting in different colours. The pattern is from Miss Bea's Colours by Louisa Harding and the yarn is Rowan All Seasons Cotton. For some reason the blue one turned out about an inch shorter than the pink one. I think I followed the pattern the same. I suppose that's what you get when you knit a lot when you're tired.

I wish I'd taken some pictures at the coast because the sea was quite rough. So rough in fact that we actually saw some people surfing instead of just bobbing up and down in the water, which is all you really normally see.

I can't wait for the end of term now. Only two weeks to go.

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.