A post from Norway

This is going to be just writing as I can't seem to add pics from my iPad today.

This finds me sitting in a bar in Norway surrounded by my lovely C, Mum, and my bro his wife and two kids, fire blazing, people milling around because unusually its warm and the snow is melting! We've had a lovely time the last few days skiing, and have loved the views and the place we're staying.

Mum is knitting a scarf with the pattern from Aberlady (from the Alice Starmore book) out of Triskelion Lleu in Aqua; everyone is together and pottering, and I am reading the TinCanKnits blog on A Year Of Making by Emily Wessell. Makes me want to do that!

So - in this my 50th birthday year I shall try to record making something every day!

Today - relationship with my nepheew, and a little bit of sock knitting!

Triskelion British Yarn club - 1st delivery!

So arrival of mystery package - I realise it says Triskelion on it - hurray! It must be the first yarn from the club. I tear the package open to find - a yarn named Afron Hafren (or the River Severn).  A meaningful name for me - grew up in Bristol (near the Severn estuary) and holidays in Powys all my life near Pumlumon (Plynlimon in English) where the Severn has it's source. 

As you see it's a beautiful gleaming tonally dyed green/blue, 235m in 100g British Wensleydale. Probably a bit greener than this suggests, it's hand is drapey but with some tooth. Can't wait to knit with it!

finished in the lull no 1 - Viajante

This used a wonderful yarn from Yarn Pony (Mica who now makes festivals in Edinburgh instead) bought at Kathy's Knits. I live this scarf/shawl/cowl, it would be my desert island knitted thing if I could only take one.  Particularly good partnered, as here, by gin and Shakespeare in Stratford!

Knit Nottingham Opens new shop - newsflash!

Eleanor has moved her shop - it's now much bigger and even more fabulous! I was lucky enough to go to a pre-opening party on Thursday 31st March - it looks fabulous! So many people helped, but mainly this comes out of Eleanor's fertile imagination and HARD WORK for the last 5 years. I am well impressed. 

New address is  9, Trinity Walk,  NG1 2AN

http://www.knitnottingham.co.uk

Eleanor's Vlog!!!

5 years later...

...and I've decided to get back on here. We'll see how it goes!

I think it was 2011 when I last posted, so I have lived a fair bit since then, also knitted quite a lot, worked more than I intended and now started a little desultory sewing (thanks to Liz). 

I think it would help me to post a bit about my general making of stuff - perhaps there might be more finishing? I don't in fact ever feel guilty about having lots of things on the go at any time, or things around for years - this is something i do for fun, not work. However, sometime is don't finish things I'd like to be wearing! 

I'd like somewhere to talk about things I see and love too - and I shall start there, having just come back from a wonderful holiday in Norway, where I was particularly smitten by the Rådhus in Oslo. 

So - some pictures:

Wouldn't it be marvelous - if R Murdoch'd never been born?

Spun loveliness blocking

So pleased with this! I've weighed what's left - have 35, so presumably I used 65g in the shawl (but it's wet and blocking, so can't weigh it now).

Blocking:


See the lovely texture!




See the lace!






I'm really pleased with it, and think that GT will love it. Enough left for me to make a little cowl for me...

Using the spun loveliness

Just a quicky to show you how the Maia is going - I'm loving the yarn Clare spun!



Isn't it a great pattern?

A couple of FOs and a new WIP

Barb and I agreed to do the knitalong for Roxanne Mystery Shawl by Feministy and I decided to do it in Fleece artist sea wool, which I'd bought from Purlescence, in the colour 'earth'. It meant I was a bit short on yardage, but I just felt it would work.
Here's the start: 

And here's the finish:




The blocking wasn't ideal - did it in this 'log cabin' in Scotland we stayed in for a week around Clare's Etape Caledonia bike race (81 miles in highland Perthshire). It was LOVELY! We had a hot tub on the balcony to sit in and toast the race afterwards (and perhaps get just a little - um - tired and emotional). Anyway, so the stripy towel - not so good for the pics!

We did a lot of driving and I cast on for another shawl - this time Taygete, by Romi. I'd thought I might, and so had yarn for it with me - the remains of the red Colinette Jitterbug I had from the millshop and used for Audrey in Unst, and some deep teal in the same. I'm really pleased with it!





And the WIP - well I only have pics of Clare's element - the spinning. It's yarn from her Spintelligence spinning club. The fibre came from Picperfic and is 50% 18.5micron superfine merino, 30% cashmere and 20% silk - so soft! Minniemoll has pics of her fibre and what she spun here for those of you on Ravelry.




I'm using it for another of Romi's 7 small Shawls - Maia. This yarn is much lighter weight, a laceweight single. I think it'll work out really well.

The lovely MissFee!

The lovely Miss Fee sent me a present! It arrived while we were in Scotland, and though we've been back a week, our neighbour was then away so I've only just received the package. I knew I was getting a Folca box, because when Fee talked about them and I cheekily liked the orange - she said she'd send me one!

Being Fee - she generously sent me two different purple yarns too! How exciting :-)

The circle of varied colour yarn is Margaret Stove laceweight, and the other is Welsh Wool, also a laceweight twoply, slightly heavier than the other.


I've filled the little boxes within boxes.


See how neat it is! It opens out, and then folds back in, and safely stores all those lovely little tchotchkes!

Blackberry Jewels

Clare (she's ShortyC on Rav) has spun me some lovely yarn, which was part of her 4th challenge with Diane Mulholland and her Spintelligence club (see the last post). The challenge was to take 100g of 20% bamboo/80% merino and slightly overspin 2 singles, then slightly overply the yarn, to make a good wearing sock yarn. We counted rounds on the niddy-noddy, and made it 260m, not bad!

I made Elm Leaves for my godmother, and extrapolated a neckwarmer for Mum. (£.25mm for the former, doesn't show the lace that well, and 4mm for the latter).

two new projects (ummmm)

So, I've finished my lovely Shur'tugal socks



Knitabulous yarn, socktopus pattern.

I really do love these socks, might knit them again.

Anyway, I followed these by casting on another Daybreak shawl for Clare from the Old Maiden Aunt yarn I bought in Stirling last year - superwash merino in Lon-dubh (blackbird) and jasper.




BUT I am going to knit something else first - new to my stash but not bought by me...

Clare is part of a brilliant scheme by Diane Mulholland, called Spintelligence. Clare gets a parcel of fibre every 2 months with instructions so she's learnt LOTS from Diane 9I think she may carry on for another 6/12 if she can).

Here's her yarn - it's 20bamboo/80merino fibre from Artist's Palette Yarns. She had to spin it then overply it as a two ply to try to make a strong sock yarn. She played with the colours - one ply is more striping than the other.
Here it is just skeined:


And here I've balled it.


I'm going to use it for my godmother's 60th birthday present (end of Jan!) in some cuffs - Anne Hanson's Elm Leaves, I think. Should be gorgeous.

Spacegirl finished!

Really finished it a week or so before Xmas, but then needed to lengthen the sleeves and sew in the ends (there were lots!) All done now, and Clare's wearing it lots! It'll pill like a b*gger, I think, but what the heck...







Doesn't she look lovely????

Shur'tugal for S62011

The yarn is Knitabulous Salwar kameez:



The sock is Socktopus' Shur'tugal (dragonrider). I really like this pattern, though it's bitten me a few times already! Just in sizing - I started off medium on 2.25mm - too small (I did 2 repeats after the ribbing); went up to the large size still 2.25mm - and still a bit small after 4 repeats! Success with 2.5mm in big size. BUt I've dropped to 2.25mm from the start of the heel flap (which I've done longer by 4 pairs of rows).

The s62011 sock-knitting KAL!

A process has been going on on Ravelry in the Morris and Sons SnB group (which I used to attend) to decide a group personal sock club for 2011. A personal sock club is one wear you put aside sock yarn and patterns at the start of the year and then pick a bag at random at appointed dates and knit x no of socks over the year.
As a group club, this is a bit different - there's been voting, with various patterns frontrunners then dropping out, and the final list is:

Jan/Feb Shur’tugal Start 1 January Due 28 February
Mar/April Nutkin Start 1 March Due 30 April
May/Jun Leyburns Start 1 May Due 30 June
Jul/Aug Fox Faces Socks Start 1 July Due 21 August I'm NOT doing these!
Sep/Oct Nanner Start 1 September Due 31 October
Nov/Dec Boyfriend Socks Start 1 November Due 31 December for Clare

I may do Slant instead of Fox Faces, if so I'll use my Knittery 'Bloody Mary' yarn, I think. Or I could do Skew with my Hundertwasser Opal yarn. However, I may only do 2 or 3 of the socks over the year anyway, we'll see.

The important thing about this sock club, is to use yarn that you've already got - and I'm trying to use some of my Aussie-related yarns, too. 

Mine are (front to back) Knitabulous Salwar Kameez (courtesy of Lyns) for Shur’tagal, Sundara Candied Chrome (given to me by Lara for Nanner, The Knittery Earth (also an Aussie yarn)for Leyburn, then Yarn Yard Cairn in ? colourway for nutkin, of course and Koigu Kpppm for the boyfriend socks - for my girlfriend!

I've finished the Bellefleur (Mystery hat A KAL from Woolly Wormhead)! Enjoyable knit, I used yarn I bought in Stirling from Shilasdair - luxury 4ply (I think). Slightly worried I may be reacting to it, but shall not give in to such bodily weakness.



Clare doesn't like it (she doesn't like any beret/slouchy hats though, so fairly meaningless here). I'm pleased with the fit which is a smallish beret. Great colour, loved the cables coming from the ribbing all the way through, and enjoyed learning the 'alternate cable cast-on'.

I have also finished my sparkly stole, wore it to C's sister's wedding where it went down well. The yarn is Sea Wool by Fleece Artist in Angel Fish - lovely to knit with.
I took advantage of a cold snowy day here to take many many many many pics. Apologies!



Here you can see the end of our house - bedroom window and MUCH scaffolding still!

The danglers here are swarovski crystals and the beads are just clear with silvered insides. The crystals are more sparkly and multicoloured in that sparkle than this shows.


This is my innovation - not shown particularly well her. I knitted up the side portion and grafted to the other half of the stole, did the same on the other side, then I knitted across the middle of the stole picking up on either side.



Anyway, there I am! Now to continue with the robot tank, the space girl sweater, little birds etc etc etc.

Stirling Market* haul

* ie Knit Camp, see here: http://www.ravelry.com/discuss/uk-knit-camp-rav-day-2010-social-group/1333148/1-25#1


From Di Gilpin, to make ME ME ME a tank top. Gorgeous, complex colour variation.


Also from Di (Barb bought this too). To make her Rose for Winter, which I tried on - was a beautiful part-felted tunic. Lovely shape, on, and a good outdoor hairy jumper!


For a daybreak for Clare

For an Irtfa'a for me
And sock, sock sock yarn!

October Update

So some of my friends are doing a daily blogpost in October. I thought I'd do one at least!

I still need to take pics of the Embarrassing KC Haul (TM, and KC rather than the longer version as recognition of the sadness around what was for me a fabulous week).

BUT - I have been knitting!

While at KC I mainly knitted on a Salto sock, in lovely splotchy Koigu KPPPM. Sadly it a) didn't show the pattern well, and b) was too tight to comfortably go over my heel, so I've frogged it.

The other thing I knitted on while there was Cloud Chaser by Indigirl Amy , using some Grace hand-dyed by Louisa Harding. You can see here I've done the back, and just started on the R side. It has long drapy sides and then a collar added on last. I'm alternating skeins - you cna see how stripy that's made it!

My niece and nephew have early autumn birthdays - and we had them to stay the first weekend we were in the new house. Their main birthday present was a trip to Stomp, but I knitted Alice a double-knit cowl with moon and stars, in a blue and a yellow from Posh YArns many years ago that she chose last December. She loved it, and wore it constantly, but I took no pics! Will try to remember to. Ben is VERY into knights, swords etc. I've knit him a helmet - it's Black Prince by Annie Modesitt, a very well-written pattern.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/21548594@N00/5098477137/
I'm moving on well with Heidi Kirrmaier's Space Girl for Clare. Thanks to Reecie for bringing me an extra two balls of the black yarn from Sydney!


Naturally, I couldn't just stick to what I was already knitting. I saw Norovirus on Rav and loved the name. I happened to have 2 balls of silk garden sock in a colour I thought would work well for Clare. BUT I decided that this pattern wasn't right for her, and the shape was too loose - so I drew some robots with her help and charted them, did a swatch (!!!!!) and started with corrugated rib. Here you go!

I'm hoping the robots WILL be visible, and will amuse some of C's patients!

And I decided to knit myself a stole to wear to C's sister's wedding in a month. I decided in July, and checked through all my laceweights and sock weights. Found this lovely Sea Wool in Angelfish, bought in a Purlescence sale as part of a sea baby kit. Anyway, PERFECT colours. But not enough - so I ordered 2 more skeins, one came straight away but was much lighter and brighter - I tried alternating skeins, but it wasn't ideal. I'm still waiting for the other skein - should be any day now... The pattern is Iris via P/HOP and I'm using swarovski mega-sparkly danglers for the ends and some plain glass seed beads for the meat of the stole (but only about 1/20th as many as the designer specifies!)



I'm starting to get sorted with my yarn store
and with doors

Lucky sod, aren't I?

Congratulations Andrew!

(Just a quickie, need to take pics of my embarrassing haul from KnitCamp and then I'll post about that great time).

So, once there was a rather tired and bizarre knitting shop in a place called Newtown in the lovely city of Sydney. The yarn rolled on the floor, as did the pets - kind of sneezy!

Then along came Morris and Sons, and took over the place. Now, M&S have a big shop in the CBD, and one in Melbourne - but this was to be a little different, and is called The Granny Square. How to make it perfect? Oh yes - get The Other Andrew to sort it out!

He's done them proud. Have a look at these pics on Flickr and see if you don't agree.

sadly no pics - I lied! There are some!

Because I am illicitly posting from work - and we all know that if I procrastinate to get pics, this'll never happen! I've taken pics! Here you go...

Anyway - I have been knitting! I've almost finished a Summer Solstice (by Heidi Kirrmaier), which I've been doing in background Rowan silky tweed in 'tabby' - dark brown with orangey and other flecks - and silk/merino stripes in 5 colours SPUN BY CLARE for my Xmas present on her drop-spindles, from Yarn Yard fibre (Natalie sadly doesn't seem to be doing fibre any more). It's SO nearly finished...
Here are lots of pics:

I've also started a jumper for Clare herself - Space Girl , also by Heidi Kirrmaier!
Some pics:


I've nearly finished a version of Daybreak using 2 yarns that are more-or-less the same clour, but one's a handspun cashmere and the other a boucle silk, both bought from Posh Yarn about 4 years ago. I think it's working well.

And I've swatched for a Baby Cables and Big Ones Too, using rowan Calmer so I don't overheat in it! I like big warm jumpers, but this one is low necked and fitted, so more of a jersey top, I think. I really like this green.