Recently in Crafty Things Category

... my darning needle?

I have a wonderful FO that I have finished knitting but need to tidy up my loose ends and I have no idea where my darning needles are. I reckon they are in a box somewhere, but I have no idea where. Hmmmmmmmm. The search continues!

Well, as you can tell due to the lack of entries, life has been extremely hectic recently. What with the threat of an impending OfSted inspection at school and the house malarky, it's been a stressful time recently.

But things are getting better. Oh yes. We have finally exchanged on our house! This pleases me so much as it was taking far too long to exchange. The builders were mucking us around and the solicitors were ignoring us by not returning our calls (well, we think!). And we have a moving date too. We are on the move on 31st October. Oooooh, Hallowe'en! I'm on half term, so that is quite convenient. David is going to take some time off work and his folks are coming up to help us. My mum was going to come down but circumstances dictate that she can't, which is a shame :(

Anyway, yesterday we went to our new house and took lots of photos. To save your bandwidth (and because they are all just magnolia rooms!) I shall just link to them instead of put the actual photos up. So, here is the kitchen, from the dining area, living room, with me sat where the sofa will go (look at our wonderful view - a building site!), hallway stairs, also showing bed 3, which we will use as a study and our bedroom. There are more photos but I won't bore you with rooms with just beige carpet and magnolia walls! Can't wait to move :D

Right, onto the knitting content. I do have *some*. Not much, mind!

Yesterday I received a nice parcel!

Suzy liked the look of this parcel. I think she was eyeing the box, to be honest. Our Suze has a thing for boxes - she must go into them! All boxes except the ones that they need to go into to go to the vets, that is.

Anyway, this parcel contains lots of Highland Peruvian Wool from Elann to make my Babette blanket from Interweave Crochet. I have to admit, I am desperate to start it. But I am being good and waiting until we move. I have been waiting for this yarn since August as I bought it from elann direct and they sent it surface mail. And the postal strikes made it late! So yummy.

My lace shawl has stopped for the time being. It was getting a bit too big for just the odd row here and there. It meant I had to think about it more and I am unable to do much thinking at the moment. Here it is in all it's glory though.

And a close up:

I am enjoying knitting it and I am looking forward to finishing it. The cotton is quite difficult to knit with but the results are really yummy so far. We'll see what it's like when it is finished and blocked.

And finally, after my previous entry, I dug out my DPNs and my sock yarn. Whoops! I have been knitting my Refreshers Socks!

This is Trekking XXL yarn and the colours are fab! I love them. They are nice and bright for the impending winter and just rather yummy. The yarn is lovely to knit with too. I had never knit with Trekking before and would use it again. Definitely.

Phew. Mammoth entry.

I am sorry I haven't been commenting much on people's blogs. I am reading but I am failing at the commenting malarky. November will be a better month for that - when everything is sorted and stuff. Once we do that, it will all be better chez prettyinpurple.

I wanted to cast on a pair of socks as I feel I am getting sock withdrawal symptoms (like dreaming of knitting socks ... ) and the needles have all been packed into the bottom of one of my knitting boxes. I think I will have to dig them out before too long.

The lace shawl is getting too big for just the odd row here and there. I don't like leaving knitting in the middle of a row, which is why socks are good for just now.

Gah :|

Urgh.

This is a 'feel sorry for me' post.

I simply have not had any time recently to do any knitting. None at all. I have been ill, busy with work, busy with house stuff, busy packing, busy phoning around people to get mortgage sorted, busy, busy, busy.

I even haven't had much time to sort out my SP11 package (although that is being rectified today). I have had an idea for ages but not had time to put it together. I am making it a little bit bigger, though, to make up for the fact that I have been a rubbish friend.

My lace shawl is coming along slowly. I have only managed to do about 8 repeats of the pattern and have a long way to go yet. I keep seeing patterns I want to knit and add them to my ravelry list and I am even dreaming about knitting (the other night I dreamt I was knitting socks with some gorgeous yarn that is in my stash, packed away).

I just want to go somewhere calming, with my knitting, some good tv and a cup of tea. But no. I am going to go and pack. Again.

I want to click my fingers and be moved so that I can do some knitting! I want to knit, dammit!

This is my latest WIP. It is the Diamond Knit Shawl from Lion Brand. It is my first proper lace project. I got fed up with all my housey stuff (everything is at solicitors, our house is on the market and we constantly have a stream of people viewing it *sigh*) and wanted something a bit different on the needles, so opted for lace. A few people may remember my last disastrous attempt at lace. However, I came to a conclusion with that - it was my first lace project and it was the first time I used laceweight yarn. So, for this, I am using DK weight yarn. The pattern originally suggests using chunky yarn but David gave me some Patons 100% Cotton for our 2nd wedding anniversary (cotton!) and I thought that it may look nice in this pattern. I thought it may give it a more delicate look and thought it would be nice for a wedding we are going to in December.

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained, I thought. So I started knitting. I had to rip it out twice and am using life lines galore, in case I make a mistake (the idea of picking up yarn overs doesn't fill me with joy!)

So far, I am pleased with it. I am increasing every second row and it is quite an easy pattern to remember.

So there you have it. And I am going back to knitting.

I'm sorry I haven't been commenting on people's blogs - I haven't had the time, recently, what with the new academic year, the house stuff, and getting the cats to the vets, I haven't had the time. And what spare time I *do* have, I'd rather knit (sorry!). I am reading everyone, though. I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed with stuff just now.

Who's there? The postman! And the postman brought me lots of goodies today.

The first thing I opened was my book for the Blog a Penguin Classic. I received Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte. I'm looking forward to reading it.

I also received a wonderful parcel from my SP11! Look!

Thank you SP11! It is wonderful :D

It is a lovely package of some natural sock yarn and some kool aid in lots of funky colours. My husband turned his nose up at the kool aid as he thinks it is quite potent stuff. But he thought I was going to eat it! Noooooo ... I shall use it to dye lots of wonderful yarn in lots of amazing colours. It's wonderful. Thank you. My SP11 also sent a chocolate coin from Starbucks. Unfortunately, it didn't last long enough to be photographed due to the yummy-ness nature of such an item.

Thank you lots, SP :D

I also received a package from a sock_kit_swap on LJ.

This is another wonderful package from Katrina. Look at that delicious yarn! It is Mountain Colors Hand Painted yarn and the colour is beautiful. Definitely the sort of colour I love. I can't wait to knit with it and use all the gorgeous stitch markers she put in. *And* she made the bag herself :D Which is perfect for my bits and pieces. Thank you Katrina. I love it so much.

I feel very lucky today :D I just need to find some time to knit, now ...

On the house front, we are about to send the stuff back to the solicitors with a large cheque. And tomorrow we are going to choose our carpets. Such fun :D

Pattern: Monkey from The Bumper Book of Knitting (Simply Knitting)
Yarn: Rowan Kid Classic shades 817 (Bear) and 828 (Feather)
Needles: Size 4mm straights

Well, Badger was spot on with what the bits and pieces were from my last entry. It was the monkey from Simply Knitting.

I hated this knit :| David really liked this monkey when I picked up the book eons ago. And I thought he was quite cute. However, it was a really fiddly fiddly knit. There were 21 pieces to this monkey and if I was designing the pattern, I would've thought that this was too many. It started off alright, but as soon as I was getting to bits that I would've done in one piece but were done in 3, alarm bells started ringing.

The yarn is delicious to work with. I love it and have used it on many ocassions in the past. And will use it again in the future. As for the pattern itself, I was wholely disappointed. The leg is done in 3 pieces (the leg itself and 2 pieces of foot) when it could be done in once piece and in the round, so that there is less seaming at the end. The same for the arms. I could also say the same about the face piece too.

The amount of seaming was ridiculous. And I dislike seaming. The odd bit is fine, but I really detest seaming teeny tiny pieces together. It looks messy. For me, anyway. And monkey looks messy too. (The picture doesn't help as it is a poor picture too.)

Although, saying that, it hasn't turned out as bad as I thought it would. The eyes, nose holes and mouth are sewn on using DMC cross stitch floss and I think that it finishes it off nicely.

I won't be making Monkey again, I don't think. Stranger things have happened though. If I was to make him again, I would alter the pattern beyond recognition. Saying that, Monkey will be loved and looked after well here. Bless 'im. How could anyone not love that cute smile?!

Right, back to the sweater, methinks.

Today I decided to deviate from my normal knitting and make some knitting accessories!

I decided to go to HobbyCraft, spend a few pennies and then spend the afternoon making stitch markers!  Man, they were fiddly.  I got frustrated, I threw it down in a mood a couple of times but eventually, the finished objects were quite funky.  Yes, they do look homemade and they aren't the best in the whole world, but I am really pleased with them.  I am going to send them to one of my swap pals in a little pouch-y thing that I am going to make. 

Overall, I am really pleased with them and I shall definitely make some more for me.  And working with beads is always fun :)

For the next 3 or so months, I am taking part in Secret Pal 11. Here is my questionaire.

1. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I love merino, wool blends and cashmere. They are gorgeous and, quite often, expensive :( I don't like the feel of some acrylic (some is alright, others just feel horrible) and I detest eyelash yarn. That's just horrible.

2. What do you use to store your needles/hooks in? I have a vase for my long needles, a tea cannister for my double pointed needles and hooks and a pouch for my circular needles. As much as possible, I keep my needles in their original packaging. It makes it easier for identifying which needles are which size and the like.

3. How long have you been knitting & how did you learn? Would you consider your skill level to be beginner, intermediate or advanced? I first learnt the basics many moons ago. However, I have picked it up again since about January. I would say I am intermediate. I give all sorts of things a go, including some lace-y stuff, cables, entrelac. The thing I have avoided thus far is colourwork. Intarsia scares me.

4. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? I have an amazon wish list. I can't work out how to get the link though. Not much knitting stuff on there, though.

5. What's your favorite scent? I am a sucker for flowery scents. I love fresh flowers, particularly roses and lilies. Away from fresh flowers, I love lavender.

6. Do you have a sweet tooth? Favorite candy? Chocolate. Any milk chocolate (without nuts and minus stuff like orange, mint) is good for me.

7. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? Do you spin? I dabble in things. I have a drop spindle to try, I do cross stitch and I enjoy crocheting. I have done glass painting and silk painting in the past too.

8. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) This is a hard question as I have such a wide variety of musical loves. Current favourites include Carrie Underwood, They Might Be Giants, Take That and Bryan Adams. Fairly diverse, huh? I like listening to most things with a tune. And my laptop plays music!

9. What's your favorite color(s)? Any colors you just can't stand? I love purples, red, greens, blues, simple earthy colours. I don't like bright, in your face colours like luminous pink or yellow. Deep, dark colours are the way forward *nods*

10. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I am married with cats. Just had our 2 year anniversary and we have 3 rascals cats we got from a rescue centre.

11. Do you wear scarves, hats, mittens or ponchos? I wear hats, scarves and mittens. I do not wear ponchos.

12. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? I like little knits that don't take the world to finish, like socks or wrist warmers. I do knit afghans and am in the middle of my first ever jumper!

13. What are you knitting right now? On the needles I currently have some Tidal Waves socks in CTH, a scarf for David and I have just started a jumper by Kate Gilbert.

14. Do you like to receive handmade gifts? Handmade gifts are so much more special than shop bought.

15. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? I don't like plastic needles. I have a variety of the rest that all get used.

16. Do you own a yarn winder and/or swift? I have a yarn winder that I love. As a make shift swift I use our clothes horse.

17. How old is your oldest UFO? I don't really have any UFOs. They are all in the process of being finished. If I don't think it'll get finished I frog it. I am quite ruthless with my frogging.

18. What is your favorite holiday? I love Christmas, but not the commercial Christmas. To me, it's a time for family and reflection (not necessarily religious).

19. Is there anything that you collect? I have a rather large stamp collection from many moons ago. Bar that, we collect magnets for our fridge.

20. Any books, yarns, needles or patterns out there you are dying to get your hands on? What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? I don't have any magazine subs. I was thinking about an IK one, but am not sure yet. There aren't many books or owt that I want. I don't follow what books / patterns are out there much. If I fancy getting a new book for ideas then I pop into Waterstones and have a look. I am pretty content at the moment.

21. Are there any new techniques you'd like to learn? I'd like to have a go at colourwork and I want to try more complex lace.

22. Are you a sock knitter? What are your foot measurements? I am a sock knitter, yes. I am a UK Size 8.

23. When is your birthday? My birthday is 13th November.

24. Are you on Ravelry? If so, what's your ID? I heart ravelry. I am lrm743.

Phew! That was some questionaire!

Just a quick entry. I have started my first ever jumper! This is the largest garment I have ever started. It is quite daunting. I have already had to frog it once. But that's the trials and tribulations of a sweater :)

*bounce*

It'll probably be finished a year next October!