Last post of the year! Things which amuse and amaze!

Oki so i was standing in the kitchen last night getting a glass of water and i noticed the washing powder box on the window sill had this picture on it:

Is it me or is what i assume to be the parent taunting the child with the box, ne ner ner you cant get it?? I'm not sure this is the message they were trying to get across!

Next the amazing:

Yes that is my slipper and yes they are sticking to the radiator! They have magnets in them so they stick and get all toasty like how cool is that?they also only cost £3 equally amazing

Knitting update: Sweater lacks only a sleeve, its also a mite on the large side but meh. I have started my lace up gloves, and am taking a large quantity of knitting home with me today.

Damama Hat and pattern

I've been promising my mum a hat now for some time (since she taught me to knit in fact) and finially she will get one. This came about by chance as i found 1 ball of this yarn in the bargain bin in John Lewis and purple is her favourite colour. I thought i'd give it a go in a lacy pattern mainly cos i was worried about yarn amount as it turns out there is enough left certainly for another repeat of pattern. anyway here it is and the pattern:

Damama Hat Pattern

Fits average adult head

Materials:
1 ball RYC Soft Tweed in Thistle
1 16” 8mm circular needle
set of 8mm DPNs
stitch marker
tapestry needle

Abreviations

K: knit
P: purl
Yo: yarn over
S1: slip one
Psso: pass slipped stich over (the previously knitted stitch)
K2tog: knit 2 together
P2tog: Purl 2 together
K3tog knit 3 together.
tbl: through back of loop


Cast on 56 stitches
Cuff is worked in lacy rib as follows:

Rnd 1: k1, k2tog, yo, k1, yo, s1 k1 psso *k2, k2tog, yo, sl1, k1, psso, repeat from * to last stitch k1
Rnd 2: *k2tog tbl, yo, k3, yo, k2tog repeat to end
Rnd 3: k1, yo,, s1, k1, psso, k1, k2tog, yo, *k2, yo, s1, k1, psso, k1, k2tog, yo repeat from * to last stitch k1
Rnd 4: k2, yo, k3tog, yo, *k4, yo, k3tog, yo repeat to 2nd last stitch k2

Then the main body of the hat is worked as follows:

Rnd 1: k1, *yo, k1; rep from * across to last st, k1Rnd 2: k all stitchesRnd 3: k1, *k2tog; rep from * across to last st, k1Rnd 4: k1, *yo, p2tog; rep from * across to last st, k1
Rnd 5: k1, *yo, k2tog; rep from * across to last st, k1Rnd 6: k all stitches
Rnd 7: k1, purl to last stitch, k1

Work these set of 7 rows 3 times (if you want to make a taller hat repeat a 4th time)

The decreases are all worked in Stocking Stitch, changing to dpns as the rounds becomes to narrow for circular as follows:

Rnd 1 k4, k2tog to end
Rnd 2,4, 6 and 8: k all stitches
Rnd 3: k3 k2tog to end
Rnd 5: k2, k2tog to end
Rnd 7: k1, k2 tog to end
Rnd 9 and 10: k2tog to end.

Cut yarn leaving a 8inch tail, thread onto tapestry needle and thread through remaining 5 stitches from the needles and pull tight, sew in loose ends.

Yarn Pron Friday!

Woo yarn porn. While i was at home i bought some aran for a cardi and the bamboo yarn i had got off ebay arrived at the flat and was awaiting my return look pretty:
Then today i go out for a few little sets of DPNs and it goes horribly wrong, some sock yarn just so happened to jump oonto the counter when i was paying, i really dunno how it happened but it looked so sad i had to take it home:

And my DPNS, DPN pron?

Bought some other stuff too but its a secret...

I may be some time!

Well i have changed the progress bars to the planned knits, this may take sometime, and i havent finished looking thru the magazines i got for xmas, not good!

Things will be posted as they are finished.

and now a random pic of a cat:

Christmas Exposition 06, pt 3

Lastly my friends, i did warn them they were getting knitted gifts they seemed suitabley impressed, they'll prob be less impressed that i am posting there pics but i dont care...

We will start with Marie (lawyer), she is going skiing on Saturday for New Year with her boyfriend (lawyer) and her lawyer friends, is all very posh and bridget jones like, i mocked, anyway i made her a balaclava which she kinda asked for but its a 3-way! ooh

first its a balaclava, modelled by me and marie

i think i was ill when i took these, dont judge my pastiness, also I'm Scottish

it can be a hat once again modelled by us both

Marie looks simple i look smug overall not good

finally a scarf, modeled only by me

I think this will reduce the overall poshness this is a good thing

Yarn is 2 different rainbow yarns

Pattern is here

Jacqui, jacqui is an art student, yet you would think so to look at her, she also has a black hat that makes her look like a homeless thus i knitted her a new hat which will embrace her art schoolyness for her final 2 terms!

Hate this picture look all doubly chinny, Jacqui however has adopted the chin up pose to avoid such things we do both have major red eye lending Jacqui a certain demonic quality...

Wool is assorted DK weight stuff in rainbow colours

Pattern is here

Kerrie, Kerrie was prolly least aware of my knitting, living as she does far away in oxford but she was i think the most impressed, possibly the element of surprise. I started a different bag but it involved the crochettin of 84 flowers thus i gave up and made this instead, i think its a nicer bag!

bag hastily taken back after unwrapping and photoed as it was my last thing i finished i was so relieved i wrapped it up and forgot to take a picture, also a grinning kezmoan with bag and wine.

Pattern is from Knit today magazine

Yarn is woolcraft DK in purple along with sparkly thread.

Katy, this i think was an example of careful what you wish for, Katy asked for a knitted bra Katy got a knitted bra.

yes those are my boobies KT refused to pose for me. She does like it apparently she is going to frame it!

Yarn is Sirdar Spree cotton chunky

Pattern i started with this but i had to fairly thoroughly modify it to get the size right, it says the pattern is for a 36D but when i tried it it was tiny, as it happens the finished product is a tad large but no matter

Louise, my flatmate and resident alcoholic in training therefore the only appropriate gift was this:

She's also a fan of the pink and fluffy

Yarn is cheappy acrylic from a pound shop and pink fluff from a bookshop!

PAttern is here

Christmas Exposition 06, pt 2

Oki part 2, grandparentals and Aunt.
Originally my knitting was only gonna extend to friends and parents and i would as normal leave the other family member gift getting to my mama but then my gran gave me her needles and i figured she should reap the benifits thus i decided to knit her something but then i thot i suppose i should knit something for the others too thus the knitting grew.

Firstly my gran as she started it all, now given i had little time and she has enough hats and scarfs and what not to cloth a small country i needed something small but non hat like. Simply knitting magazine provided the answer:
Bedroom set, lavender sachet and padded coat hanger cover.
Pattern from Simply Knitting
Yarn: Lana Grossa Soffice and Cool Wool 2000 in purples

Grandad, again with time contraints had to be something small, i decided i would bite the bullet and try my hand at some socks:

Yarn is Sirdar click in mitten and Stylecraft special chunky in lipstick
Pattern is here

Betsy, my Aunt, i went for novelty more than anything with this, she likes cats!

The pattern is here
Yarn is a combination of 1 strand mohair in pink and 1 strand of brown shetland wool from my haul from my friend's mum.

Lastly my papa, again i wasnt sure what to do, but i saw these and thot thye'd be good, will keep his hands warm when he goes to the horse but will also leave his fingers free for buckles and what not

Pattern here
Yarn is artesano alpaca inca cloud in teal and dusky black, i did them 2 tone as i wasnt sure I'd have enough black to do em all, as it turned out i was wise as i had 3 yds left when i finished!!

Christmas Exposition 06, pt 1

Oki i think the best way to do this is just to split it into sections and not give each a seperate post, so i have decided, will start with the parental gifts

Firstly father. Father is going skiing in April for the first time in his puff, thus i knitted him a balacalva type jobby with extras, he also requested redness so he can be seen when he skis off down a mountain side out of control, red will be easy for search and rescue to find. anyway here we be:

yes yes i look like a berk but no matter.

Pattern is this

Wool is Robin DK in red and blue

Had to use 6mm needles to get gauge, but this was oki as had circs and dpns in that and not whatever tha pattern calls for

I also got a bit carried away with the increases hence the largeness of the dicky!

Mother, mother likes purple. This does have less general reasonign except she saw the yarn and commented on it thus i knit it for her.

Oki, its a wrap as nicely modelled by the naked nintendo man plus a little close up for detail. I also got her a pin for it which took forever to find something suitable as it seems the UK arent so hot on the whole shawl pins as in the US, no matter i got one.

Yarn is sirdar firefly in midnight and the patterns is from a sirdar pattern leaflet

Parents check

Baking and sweater progress!

Today being boxing day is the night of my friends and i's annual night out, altho we have nights out at other times of the year we always go out on boxing night. The actual out going is preceded by present exchange and general snackery as such i have baked for the occasion

First i made festive biscuits, from the Nigella Lawson recipe on bbc site that is here bit over done but meh

I also made mince pies, well mince crumbles really, to my friends mums recipe I'm sure she wont mind me sharing:

250g butter

200g suger

1 egg

drop vanilla essence

500g self raising flour

Mincemeat

icing sugar for dusting

Cream together butter and sugar til smooth add egg and vanilla essence and beat together. Add half the flour and mix. Add remaining flour and work with a fork til breadcrumby, dont over mix. Put a desert spoon of the mix in a paper case the a teaspoonful of mince meat and top with another desert spoon of crumbley mix. Bake in an oven heated to about 180 C for 10 mins til golden brown. Cool then sprinkle with icing sugar.

Yum

Sweater update:

Since whenever i posted it things are progressing well, possibly the fasted sweater in the world! heres what i have so far:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!

And relax!

The presents are done, the ones for xmas anyway. There all under the tree (another that i decorated) observe:

shiny pressies at the front are the ones from me

the finishing of the pressies means i can now turn my hand to things for me, thus the chunky sweater has been started, pretty:

Anyway stay tuned for the big exposy on the 27th!

Things

Going home for xmas today,thus i should at this point be packing/tidying/washing but well you know how it goes anyway i stoled this fron Ceallach more random info you dont need to kno

01. Seen the Grand Canyon nope, never even been to the states
02. Swam with wild dolphins nope, seen one int wild tho does that count?
03. Climbed a mountain does Arthurs seat or tinto count? i dont do hills
04. Taken a Ferrari for a test drive. Nope,
05. Been inside the Great Pyramid Nopes
06. Held a tarantula Egads no!
07. Taken a candlelit bath . I'm not sure, not a fan of baths.
08. Said “I love you” and meant it Yeah.
09. Hugged a tree not that i recall, tho when drunk who knows ;)
10. Bungee jumped would like to
11. Visited Paris. Yeah, i dont care for it
12. Watched a lightning storm at sea I watched from a swimmin pool, that count?
.13. Stayed up all night long and saw the sun rise Stayed up all night certainly not sure about the sun part.
14. Seen the Northern Lights nope, one day tho
15. Gone to a huge sports game I dont think i have ever been to a small sports game.
16. Walked the stairs to the top of the leaning Tower of Pisa nope.
17. Grown and eaten your own vegetables i belive so, possibly some taters
18. Touched an iceberg been to a glacier?
19. Slept under the stars in a tent?
.20. Changed a baby’s diaper never, i dont think i have even held one of the little buggers.
21. Taken a trip in a hot air balloon Nopes
22. Watched a meteor shower er maybe?
23. Eaten alligator yeah, hurrah for the highland show
24. Given more than you can afford to charity, erm maybe?
25. Looked up at the night sky through a telescope not that i recall.
26. Had an uncontrollable giggling fit at the worst possible moment regulalrly, usually when someone is trying to chastise me.
27. Had a food fight dont think so
28. Bet on a winning horse, only in games
29. Asked out a stranger my mummy told me never talk to strangers
30. Had a snowball fight uh huh
31. Screamed as loudly as you possibly can aye
32. Held a lamb most likely, have birthed cows?
33. Seen a total eclipse yup, we made pinhole doodahs.
34. Ridden a roller coaster frequently.
35. Hit a home run fairly unlikely
36. Danced like a fool and not cared who was looking everyday of my life
37. Adopted an accent for an entire day I do it regularly
38. Actually felt happy about your life, even for just a moment yeah, on the whole i have bugger all to complain about, i have 4 limbs and reasonable health
39. Had two hard drives for your computer aye
40. Visited all 50 states i have visited 0 states
41. Been to Austria twice
42. Had amazing friends still do, my friends are ace but mental
43. Danced with a stranger in a foreign country see above about strangers.
44. Watched whales I have, its was fun
45. Stolen a sign hello student! you have to do it to matriculate, didnt you know? unwritten rule no. 407.
46. Backpacked in Europe nope, i like to wash regularly
47. Taken a road-trip we dont really have enough country for a true road trip but yeah i guess so
48. Gone rock climbing kinda?
49. Taken a midnight walk on the beach dont think so
50. Gone sky diving nope
51. Visited Ireland Northern Ireland yes
52. Been heartbroken longer than you were actually in love dont think so
53. In a restaurant, sat at a stranger’s table and had a meal with them nope.
54. Visited Japan nopes
55. Milked a cow Yes and ran the poo gauntlet.
56. Alphabetized your CDs yup and my dvds,
57. Pretended to be a superhero what do you mean pretended?
58. Sang karaoke Not in public...
59. Lounged around in bed all day again with the being a student...
60. Played touch football touch rugby?
61. Gone scuba diving no, kerrie has put me off for life
62. Kissed in the rain in this country there is rarely a choice
63. Played in the mud Yes, had fights in the mud too, Claire beat me up :(
64. Played in the rain again no real option
65. Gone to a drive-in theater I'm not sure we even have them
66. Visited the Great Wall of China No tho if father gets his way...
67. Started a business No, i'd like to dunno what in tho
68. Fallen in love and not had your heart broken We'll see
69. Toured ancient sites Pompeii?
70. Taken a martial arts class
71. Played D&D for more than 6 hours straight nope, played other things tho
72. Gotten married not that i know of.
73. Been in a movie nope.
74. Crashed a party Yeah and i stole a dog to take
75. Gotten divorced again not knowingly
76. Gone without food for 5 days nopes
77. Made cookies from scratch Yep i will again soon
78. Won first prize in a costume contest Yes yes i have, i was a VW beetle
79. Ridden a gondola in Venice I might have, would need to consult the mother
80. Gotten a tattoo yups
81. Rafted the Snake River the where now?
82. Been on television news programs as an “expert” no but when i get my nobel prize...
83. Gotten flowers for no reason nope.
84. Performed on stage Many times
85. Been to Las Vegas nopes
86. Recorded music dont think so
87. Eaten shark might of
88. Kissed on the first date define date?
89. Gone to Thailand no
90. Bought a house nope
91. Been in a combat zone not really no
92. Been in a marching band nah tho i am geeky enough
93. Been on a cruise ship Nope
94. Spoken more than one language fluently not fluently
95. Performed in Rocky Horror nope
96. Raised children HA I'd leave em on the bus.
97. Followed your favorite band/singer on tour er no
98. Passed out cold nopes.
99. Taken an exotic bicycle tour in a foreign country no
100. Picked up and moved to another city to just start over. I moved to Edinburgh for Uni?
101. Driven on the Golden Gate Bridge nope
102. Sang loudly in the car, and didn’t stop when you knew someone was looking pfft always, i talk to myself too
103. Had plastic surgery nope
104. Survived an accident that you shouldn’t have survived nopes
105. Wrote articles for a large publication nopes
106. Lost over 100 pounds I think losing things is careless ;)
107 Ridden on a boat down the Danube River Again i might have
108. Piloted an airplane i flew a model one once
109. Touched a stingray dont thing so,
110. Broken someone’s heart prolly not
111. Helped an animal give birth Yes.
112. Won money on a T.V. game show nope
113. Broken a bone my wrist, running back wards
114. Dyed your hair frequently
115. Shaved your head been threatened
116. Caused a car accident nope.
117. Been elected to public office nope
118. Skipped all your school reunions I dont think we've had any yet
119. Built your own PC from parts more or less
120. Gone back to school technically several times.
121. Read the Iliad and the Odyssey I've tried man thats a struggle.
122. Ridden a horse lots
123. Eaten Kangaroo meat yeah
124. Had stitches nope
125. Toured castles in Europe been to many that count.
126. Had your picture in the newspaper the Lanark Gazette...
127. Eaten sushi Yes
28. Sold your own artwork to someone you didn’t know dont think so
129. Published a book nope.
130. Written poetry kinda
131. Had a facial part pierced other than your ears Nose
132. Fired a rifle, shot gun or pistol- yep, clay pigeon shooting
133. Had major surgery havent had any surgery and long may that contiue
134. Had a snake as a pet Nope
135. Gone on an African safari No do you know how many disease parasites you can get??
136. Eaten mushrooms that were gathered in the wild yuk yuky yuk mushrooms are bad and wrong
137. Visited more foreign countries than US states Dont think so.
138. Visited all 7 continents only been to the 1 i live on
139. Lived in a foreign country for more than a year nopes
140. Been swimming in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans nope, the atlantic is bloody cold!
141. Been to Niagara Falls Canada side, nope
142. Lived on both sides of the Mississippi river nope
143. Sang in a foreign language in front of an audience . yep
144. Been to the Berlin Wall Yeah, tho post 89
145. Taught a child to read I worked in a school for a bit that count?
146. Been a DJ I have

Now i really should get my shecht together

Scavaging and lurgie

I'm ill boo hoo. Its xmas it goes with the turf. Anyway, i went home at the weekend. Went avisiting my friend and her mum presented me with 2 large bags of wool then Went to visit the grandparentals and did me some scavaging got a nice haul of vintage patterns all in all this is what i got:

Not bad eh! Need to take some pictures at some point of some of the more interesting patterns...

On Saturday night i went to the launch of the Cheeks for Charity calendar which is raising money for my mums RDA group, its kinda calendar girls stylee with horses, if any one wants one let me kno!

Sunday i came back to edinburgh via some ski slope knitting tried to take a picture of my dad doing his thang but this was all i got

The rest of the week? I've been snottery and knitting woo

Theivery Pt 2

Quizzes stolen from String

What is your level of knitting experience?

You're a knitter. There's no turning back now; soon you'll have calluses on your index fingers and double-points rolling around on the floor of your car. There are still plenty of new things you can try, but you have the basics down pat.
Take this quiz!

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Mohair.You are a warm and fuzzy type who works well with others, doing your share without being too weighty. You can be stubborn and absolutely refuse to change your position once it is set, but that's okay since you are good at covering up your mistakes.
Take this quiz!

What Kind of Yarn are You?



100% WoolYou are hard-core, all aboot the knitting. The feel of real wool is what your fingers crave. Knitting is cool.
Take this quiz!

Theivery Pt 1

Christmas doodah stolen from glittr

NAME: Fee
1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate all the way, nog just doesnt appeal
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Wrapped,
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? I have coloured as seen below, i like garish
4. Do you hang mistletoe? nope i wouldnt know where to get it
5. When do you put your decorations up? Used to be the 16th, as its fathers birthday, will probably be about then this year at home, as for here when i think i can get away with it
6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? spuds roasted taters
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: possibly getting my ala carte kitchen i seem to remember that for some reason
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I was i believe 4, no doubt mother can correct me if thats wrong. I was to recieve a my little pony nursery, which my father left the box for in the utility room despite mother saying no dont do that she'll guess, father says dont be silly. I guessed, mummy why did santa leave the packaging, er er, there is no santa is there mummy, er well eh no...
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No, its my gran's birthday, she may get to open a gift.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Redonkulously anally, i have to do it the same order every year, i blame my mother, lights go on them tinsel then the baubles and chocolates and the star goes on last
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Snow is ace, sledging!!
12. Can you ice skate? Well i managed it once, havent in years tho apparently i am next week, shall be an experience
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? probably my first bike, that was quite exciting
14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? er, i suppose i should say the whole family shenanigans but i see them regularly so its not exactly a rarity
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Trifle, would have to be trifle
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Either father and i texting across the living room about loosing the will to live or boxing night out with my friend
17. What tops your tree? A star, gold plastic here, red and gold tinsel at home, i think
18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? well see its about 50-50 i like recieving obviously but i also like giving someone something i know they will really like, or at least pretend to til I'm gone
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? calypso carol
20. Candy Canes... Yuck or Yum? there good but only for short periods, they tend to get very pointy very quickly too.

Things i forgot about the other day and some other things, a recap if you will

Firstly:



How evil are you?

Good to knowOki, yesterday xmas came to our flat, i finally got round to puttin up the tree yay tree:

Normal flash free fuzzy light

I went out this morning and bought some shiny shiny bamboo DPNS oooh there like chopsticks, on the way i passed the shop where i nearly bought the chest and took a picture, yes i stood in the street taking pictures thru a window with my phone who wants to say something? anyway, isnt it pretty

I meant to say the other day that while i was at home i remembered i had a little doodah that would solve my i-cord issues. I present penny the pig:

Put in wool twist the base and instant I-cord! hurrah!

Its been a long time

So havent posted much, I've had exams but now they are over and i can knit knit knit!
Generally exams were ok, hopefully i shall pass them all. It did strike me the other day that i have done all my exams with the same pen, right from Standard Grades to all the ones I've ever sat at uni, is that strange? Its a pen my dad's friend, who died earlier this year, gave me years and years ago its almost like a little tribute i suppose anyway its not very exciting but here it is:









As well as exams I've been doing me some shopping! Firstly i bought a new stash box cos the ones i had were rather full I nearly spend £80 on a proper wooden pirate style chest but decided that would be foolish and wrong so i spent £17 on this one:

In Situ

Already filling up

Then i bought things to fill it with. First i was at home and went to New Lanark where they make there own wool and i got this lot:

The red and black is bound to become this
and possibly a jumper for my mum the grey will become this for madam demando.






Then the new knitty came out and i decided i wanted to knit these which called for a trip to John Lewis to get the wool, while there i had my usual rake in the bargain bin and found a ball of RYC soft tweed in lilac and offered to knit my mum a hat with it which is why i have these:

As you can see the xmas knitting is progressing, I now have a full 2 weeks for solid knitting, or at least i did until i got a phone call telling me i was getting the new Zelda game so thats the knitting down the pan.

You may have guessed by now i have a lot of knitting planned, shall we list all i plan to do? lets why not!

Christmas knits wise i have 3 to finish and 2 to start (oh yes i got told the wool for one of them may not be in before xmas so its on hold)

1. Chunky print jumper of own designing
2. off the shoulder top from Simply Knitting
3. Long gloves in kuryon
4. fetching in multicolour peter pan
5. cabled beanie hat
6. Pirate bag
7. Dream swatch scarf
8. Twinkle Toes
9. R2D2 hat
10. Mothers hat
11. Sweater for mother
12. Bag in Sari Silk

I think thats everything i may be wrong, and no doubt the list will be added too!!!