It's Arrived!

Thank you for the lovely comments on my hoodie. It is indeed the softest yarn imaginable and this is one yarn you can wear next to your skin without any irritiation whatsover. In fact I would wear it with nothing underneath except for the fact I'd need to wash it each time. Thats how soft it is.

Get Knitted a week ago last Saturday was amazing. The shop is LARGE, light and airy full of wonderful yarns. Sue & co have really done a fantastic job and it is well worth a visit, or preferably several. Having only just paid for my STR Sock Club I only bought a couple of items but it is just so good being able to see and fondle all the lovely yarns in the flesh ;) There is just so much yarn though its a little hard to take it all in. Most yarn shops are teeny and you're falling over people. Not here, oh no, there are sofas and drinks and magazines, oh and did I mention all the YARN!!!

The Clover Soft Touch Crochet Hook I bought is truly amazing. I've been crocheting a dish/washcloth and finding my finger got very sore and almost blistering forcing me to stop. It was metal as a smallish size so I really needed an alternative so I tried one. And I love it. So much so I've had to order a set from Web of Wool with case of course and will probably sell my old ones. I can't stand metal anyway so the smaller ones will definitely have to go. I thought crocheting dishcloths might make them a little more hardwearing and also would avoid the dreaded cotton arm ache. But defeats the object if the hook makes my fingers sore. Hurrah to Clover! Clever lot they are.

I also picked up a tip for the KnowKnits case which I've found to be pretty useless as I can't get it to close it properly. Again, defeats the purpose. But Carol said some vaseline on the cord sorts that problem out. Good idea, cheers Carol! I tried it with some lypsyl and that worked a treat - yay :)

It is that time of year again. Oh yes, the new Rowan collection came out on the 1st Feb accompanied by new yarns and new booklets. I absolute love the new Rowan Magazine 41 which arrived yesterday to my delight and surprise which will explain the late post! Sorry guys, but I had to drool over the new mag. I love this mag and already have several items I want to make. I'm ecstatic, a lot of it will be from stash which is even better though I can't wait to try the new yarn Damask. More next post, once I've whittled down my many favourites ;) Oh so different from last season when I struggled to find new things to make.

Also arrived were the fabulous Crystal Palace DPN's in the 2.25mm sizes that I'd been desperate for. They are indeed stronger as I'd been told and I so wish they were sold in the UK.

And I forgot to mention the Rollie Stitchkeepers I got from Web of Wool. They are really handy when you're knitting the cuff or foot but I discovered are no use when you're knitting the gusset. But a great asset to the sock knitting addict who likes to take a project with them wherever they go.

Oh yes, what have I been knitting? Well the Fletcher coat in Noro Iro is 5 cm off from being finished. Can you believe I ran out - seems to be a habit with Noro as it rarely if ever happens with any other yarns. Anyway as its the hood I'm not worried about dye lot so had to order another skein. It sure makes it an expensive knitted item though quite reasonable really for a coat.

When it turned cold I decided to knit the second Fuzzy Feet slipper sock which was whipped up in no time. Here we have a pre-felting picture - my they are large!


And then a post felting FO picture. This is after the second time in the machine. Just one wash proved very unsatisfactory but they're better now, though still too wide for my liking. Maybe they'll have another trip through the washer at some point. But no way are they as nice as my Kureyon felted slipper socks which are far nice and a much much better fit. The Fuzzy Feet have a kind of pixie foot shape thing going on which I'm not so keen on. They do the trick though, but I wouldn't make another pair. I kinda expected Lopi to felt quicker than it did, but I know for next time.

This is the wonky crochet washcloth that gave me a blister I mentioned earlier which is really rather embarassing and shows off my crochet skills to a t. But hey, I got the hang of it after a while as you can see and managed to do the rest of it straight. Practice makes perfect eh? And I'm sure the next one will so much easier with my lovely Clover Soft Touch hooks ;)

I've also been working on a few summer bits that were hidden in the depths of my Bagsmith bag but there's nothing to show yet. I'm just picking up whatever I fancy. I'm holding off starting a new big project till I've made a decision on the new Rowan collection and had a look at the new yarns in the flesh.

But I couldn't leave you without this fabulous FO. Yup, another pair of Socks That Rock, these in X-Mas Rock. I can't tell you how much I love these socks. Just amazing ;) And I just love the flash pooling on the gusset - just like go faster stripes!