Muppetry and Mourning

I forgot to mention yesterday that my computer got very very ill this week, in fact it may well be terminal but i havent brought myself to try and fix it yet... So thats a bummer all round, 5 years worth of stuff swallowed by the big you didnt back up you eejit blackhole, altho i do still have some of it on this puta so its not all lost but still you know!

Also a slight correction to thelist of things from glittr, the chocolate as i discovered upon going to eat it is not in fact a chocolate its a little pot of cunningly disguised lip balm!

Just goes to show you cant judge a book by its cover...

Packages Galore!

Now i have my camera back i can post properly. First the catch up, I knitted my handspun wheeee

Sorry about the blurry photo even with the macro on it still didnt like it (the advantage of the blur is you cant see my goosepimples i was cold when i took this!) I didnt have much but it was enough for this wee cuff, i like it!

Now Parcels! first as promised the package from the lovely String :

In the pic we can see 4 balls of knitpicks wool of the andes in blueberry and i think wine (cant be arsed getting up to check) 3 balls of knitpicks sparkles in sunset (the 4th is currently otn!) its very bright!, some nice cards, postits and a magnetic shopping list, v-handy!! There is also a hersheys n more mallow bar and a lifesaver. Not in the picture because it already went in my tummy, 2 lollies, more lifesavers another herseys bar (shortly after the pic was taken the second followed the first!) and some easy mac yum! Thanks String!

Now todays, It really is what they say good things come in small packages! i recieved this little box from glittrgirl :

it contained all this!

We have a v-nice purple beret that i have been sporting all day (was a good look for going to an art gallery i thot), some very very nice greeny blue yarn, a book "At knits end" by the yarn harlot, which i have looked at on more than one occasion and thot i wantee and its v-good! a brooch and necklace, some soap wittily called soapal fruit for those of you who remember starburst before they were starburst! 2 candles, a wee choccie and a little teapot shapped teabag dish

One is terribly chuffed, big thanks to glittr on that one!

I span!!

Yes I'm not dead, have been doing uni work and having a vague social life terribly inconvieniant i know! i also have not got my camera at the moment so despite having lots of things i could take photoes of to blog i cant! this i only happen to have a photo of because i took it at home! Anyway this is my first attempt at properly spinning and plying, isnt it pretty (i also love this photo i think its very arty!) its merino ooh, I've already knitted it up and its fine, i would show you were it not for the lack of camera! I also got a very nice package from the ole USofA more on that when i get my camera back!!

SUCH an exciting day!!

First off this is a bit picture heavy but well a lot has gone on!

today has been very exciting, took the grandparents out to the trossachs with parents for a jolly.

Started off at loch lomond where as well as getting bracelets that were reduced from £15 to 10p, i got this:

About 230m of raffia, for? 46p, 2p a hank!! i figure it will become a bag yay cheapness!!

Next on our agenda was the Scottish wool centre, exciting enough but on the way in i noticed a sign saying that on saturdays they gave free spinning lessons, well what could i say? Spin i did! the results? variable!

I did this:

Mum did this:still need washing, take pictures after that :). Needless to say were hooked! So we bought this

and have been looking on ebay for carders are more fleece yay!

then we continued on round the scenery, i took some piccies outta the car window, bit blurry but hey

Now a coupla pics from yesterday

waiting for the bus i noticed the sky was v-pretty, wouldnt it just make a lovely colour of yarn

Then i got home and granted a day late had my haggis! (having it now too, can you od on haggis?) anyway as it should be:

Slippers! yes a 2nd FO in 3 mins

Pattern
Yarn is rowan calmer in blue of some description and i used fiber trends slipper soles on them

not strictly true i finished these last night well i did one before xmas then got severe "2nd sock syndrome" and couldnt bring myself to start the other but i did it!

Just looking at these the colours look totally different there they same honest!

In other news i have managed to lose the hat i knitted on monday is that some sorta record?? need to go and ask at uni see if it tis there, most upset!

Also once again hello to my dad's higher class, do feel free to leave comments y'all :)

Babies! an FO

I think this was actually my first FO 0f 2007 if memory serves but i wanted to wait til it arrived at its destination before posting it. It went to CBear for her new wee babba, Elizabeth Noelle (Zellie) born 18th January. I've put picts of the inside too to show how many press studs are on it!Pattern is one that i got from my gran's many many baby patterns and its some White baby 4ply that came from my grans too and snuggly 4ply in pink

Now the best bit: modelled by Zellie, isnt she just a cutie!!

Congrats Cbear and Mr CBear!

A non knitted FO and a pressie

So i am endevouring to "down size" clear out some of my clutter and generally keep things tidier, and i was thinking what can i do with all my hats n gloves and such like i thot i could go to Ikea and get some sorta hangy pockety thing then i thot hell i can make one! and thus i did, its rough as arse but it does the job:

and full of crapola:

I also got a package this morning from darling Yorkie, filled with exciting American goodies. I was quite excited about the mac n cheese given my love of cheesy pasta, sadly it was a bit yukky thus i shall keep the other box for posterity!

Bunnet!

In a severe case of startitis (and the threat of impending bad weather) i decided to forgo the current wips and make start on my hat then today due to being ill i finished it! i love hats so quick! Any way here it is

Yarn is Wendy Fusion in Fenugreek that i got for my b-day

Pattern i modded to add an extra decrease row to debumfle and i made it a bit longer than prescriebed.

Recipe and a Random piccy

So i have a tendancy to make what i call "mystery dinners", see whats in the cupboard and combine sometime they work sometimes they dont, i have decided that when they do i'll blog the recipe for safe keeping. Todays was originally going to be veg lasange but due to a series of mishaps didnt quite end up that way so here we go.

The vegeatble lasange that wasnt

Ingredients:

1 thing of Broccoli (what is the units of broccoli?)

1 red pepper

1 yellow pepper

1 green pepper

1 onion

1 can chopped tomatoes

1 can tomato soup

oregano

basil

dried pasta

cheese

Making:

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Chop the onion and fry til soft in a little vegeatable oil, add the can of tomatoes. chop the broccoli and the peppers and stir into tomatoey onion mix, add the tomato soup and a good sprinkle of basil and oregano stir well and simmer or a low-medium heat for about 10-15 mins. Then get a ovenable dish and put in a layer of the pasta, not too thick pour over the veggie sauce making sure that all the pasta is covered, grate cheese over the top and bake for 20-30 mins.

now i cant post without a picture so specially for my dads higher class:

A near case of knitting theft!

So my dear and lovely (or so i thot) friend Danny came to see me today, i showed him my knitting.

He put it on:Then he tried to leg it with it! his own jumper wouldnt fit over it so he took it off and stuff it up his jumper instead!

Theivery!!! I nearly had to search him on th way out!!

FO RAK and more dad realted goodies

OOh look at the abreviations! start with the FO

Yes the pic isnt brill but have you ever tried takin a pic of both arms yourself? Anyway i saw the pattern for these and had to have them, they were also perfect for my first foray into all things noro, so so pretty which is why they are different colours!

The yarn is Noro Kureyon in 159

Pattern here

Now the RAK, lovely lovely Sue send me pretty things lookee

Fank oo Sue Kisses!

Next my dad once again proves to be the saviour of knitting, i need 15mm needles for knitting my colinette, so off to b+q for some dowel then off father went and crafted these babies

Best part? they cost 39p!!

Yarn Pron brought to you by my father

Yes i know i promised yarn pics but welll the weather has been shoddy and well some of this i only got today!!

Firstly we have the stuff bought the other day. Dark Aran from New Lanark for to possibly make a skirt but if that goes horribly, it will become something else.

Next, i finally managed to get to the shop in West Calder that has been taunting me for so long, lovely lovely woman! Anyway i went mainly for a nebby but also to get some colinette to make a birthday pressie. Its graffiti and zero i think, i forget so quickly

Then i saw some very very pretty Patons Jet a wool/alpaca mix, i had not come across it before but it was so pretty calling to me. I didnt know what i would do with it but i wanted more than a few balls tho i was swithering over the spending of the money, then father piped up from his bored position in the corner that if i wanted wool he would buy it (isnt he nice), i had a look at a pattern book found a nice cardi but working out prices was gonna be quite a lot but father said feck it you might as well get something nice and thus it was bought, the nice lady gave us the pattern and a ball free cos we bought so much! anyway here it is v-prettyIts actually more tweedy than the pic allows.

You'll notice i have gone a bit rural with my pics, thats what being at home and having garden access does to you!

Geisha Sweater and Pattern

For a change i will start with the picture, taken in the garden and mildly artistic? Anyway i bought some Rowan chunky print cheap at a show and decided instead of trying to find a pattern to fit i would design my own. I called it Geisha because i think the sleeves look kinda like the dresses that they wear. Sure i should say more but i forget so heres the pattern:

Geisha Sweater

Size
probably somewhere in the region of a UK size 16-18 will fit up to a 22, I'm a 14-16 and its quite baggy on me, can easily be adjusted to be smaller just cast on less stitches

Materials:
9 balls Rowan Chunky Print in Girly Pink
9mm Straight needles
7mm 24" circular needle
stitch marker
Tapestry needle
Stitch holder

Instructions:

Back and Front are worked the same
Using 9mm needles cast on 70 stitches work 5 rows (1.4inches) in moss stitch, change to Stocking Stitch and work 2 rows even.
decrease 1 stitch at the beginning and end of the next row then every following 15 rows twice til 64 stitches remain. Work even for 14 rows (4 inches) to a total length of 14.5inches
Shape Armhole: cast off 2 stitches at the beginning of the next 2 rows, 60 stitches remaining. Work 22 rows (6.3 inches) even.
Neck shaping: work both sides of neck at same time, work 18 stitches then join a second ball of yarn and cast off 24 stitches work remaining 18 stitches. Decrease 1 stitch at both neck edges every row for 7 rows til 11 stitches remain each side.
Work 3 rows even arm hole measures 9.1inches. Put both sets of live stitches onto stitch holder.

Sleeves, 2 of
Using 9mm needles cast on 55 stitches, work 5 rows (1.4inches) of moss stitch. Change to stocking stitch work 6 rows even, next row decrease 1 stitch at begining and end of row.Decrease 1 stitch at each end of every 8th row 7 times to 39 stitches. Work 7 rows even until sleeve measures 20.7inches
Shape cap, cast of 2 stitches at the beginning of next 2 rows, 35 stitches remaining. Then work 24 rows decreasing 1 stitch at each end of every second row, 11 stitches remain, cast off loosely.

Assembly
Graft back and front shoulders using kitchener stitch (see here for how to)
Sew sleeve top into armhole
Sew side and arm seams
weave in ends

Neckband
Using the 7mm circular needle pick up stitches around neckhole, picking up every stitch along sides and every 2nd stitch along flat front and back edges. Work 4 rows in moss stitch, cast off in moss stitch, weave in ends.

New Year New Me?

Happy New Year!

I have many things to show! Firstly hogmany (new years eve) i went to my friend Kerrie's house and taught her to knit, another recruit! (hi k-moan) she's knitting booties for her fellas brothers new babba which is called Scarlett hence the red! here she is having fun!

Mother liked her hat:

Being New years day we had the traditional Steak Pie for tea, nummo

My father is building a door in the middle of the hall which is interesting and it keeps getting stuck and trapping me in my roomSo that was yesterday, today has been quite exciting also. I went to New Lanark for woolage (yarn pron 2moro when there is daylight) and got me some bargainiferous earrings nearly £80 worth for £12!!! there pretty:

Then this evening the most exciting thing to happen all year (heh) my parents next door neighbour arrived outta the blue with:

Yup a knitting machine!!! Proper vintage one too. was that not wonderfully kind! It had been his mothers he thinks she got it somewhere in the region of 46 years ago he had had it in the house and was loathe to throw away lest someone could use it, then my parents had been round showing off their knitted goods and he thot of me!! yay!

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: