Naughty But Nice

Nope, you're eyes are not deceiving you. This is what arrived last Thursday from Get Knitted. Of course, buying the whole set of shorter length Brittany needles in one go is not actually my fault. Firstly, I blame Alison the Rowan Consultant at Cribbs Causeway for showing me her Brittany needles and how purrty they were. And telling me they came in 2 lengths.....THEN Simply Knitting had the utter cheek to advertise that the KnitTin were selling complete sets of Brittany Needles in a needle roll in their latest issue. Well, obviously I was drooling at this point, and conveniently remembered that my husband said he'd buy me a set for my birthday as he thought them very purrty too and that was that. Unfortunately its not actually my birthday till April, but whats a few months difference eh?

I almost, but not quite, feel guilty. I mean I haven't done anything bad or committed a crime. But I have that 'naughty but nice' sensation when you know you've done something you really probably shouldn't have but are just too elated too care!

They are just too beautiful for words. I wasn't too keen on the needle roll idea myself and thought it would be cheaper on their own, and indeed it was. I have sold a load of stuff on Ebay recently so it kind of all works out okay.

Unfortunately my elation was rather short lived. A few hours really was all I managed until my DH came home and told me that the repair job done under warranty on my car that I had picked up the previous EVENING, was bubbling......So was I when I saw it. I was livid. So to cut a long story short I have to go on another 2 hour trek to get it examined yet again then book it in again for yet another 2 hour trek. What a joke. And this is the manufacturers recommended garage. Never again. I tell you, I need those lovely needles just to take my mind off it.

Whilst we're on the subject here's a few other bits I got the week before that I kinda forgot to photo. First is the Go Knit Pouch from Get Knitted with the cute Clover Knit Mate Accessories Set and some Jumbo Locking Stitch Markers. I didn't know I actually needed the pouch till my friend Jackie mentioned she wanted one. That was it then. I had to have one, especially once I saw the new Clover set. Boy their stuff is too cute to mention.



Then we have the Baby Bobbi Bear pattern and some Blue Sky Alpacas from Coolwoolz. Although I have the bear pattern now the 2 skeins is for the rabbit from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. It's so luxuriously soft that it will be perfect for the rabbit. No surprise there then.....



The new Knitty is out and for the first time I've fallen in love with one of their designs Tempting II and it has gone straight to the 'must make' list. I have some Calmer I got in a sale ready and waiting.....I will start that around March I reckon.

Another design I fell in love with at first sight is the one on the front cover of Filati FF Book 2 by Jane Ellison. Unfortunately the yarn it uses did not have the same effect as its a high fashion yarn and definitely not my cup of tea so I'm planning on using Chunky Print in Tart instead, another bargain sale purchase. I can picture it in my head so hopefully that will work out well. When I get round to it of course....



And finally to the knitting. Last but definitely not least! So here she is, my latest FO, a gorgeous Biggy Print Zipped Jacket. She is amazingly warm - more so than Big Wool even. I'm really pleased with her so many thanks to Linda for recommending her. As regulars will know I usually prefer to have a pic of me wearing the garment but I've got a little bit more work to do on the zip and then press those seams so will hopefully get some pics this weekend.



Last post I mentioned the Wrist Warmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts which were begging to be made up. Here they are and they're fabulous. I mean, you can knit in them!!! Fabulous pattern and very impressed with the fit, even for my small hands.

That just leaves the sewing up of Lizzy now. She's finally at the front of the queue. I have been hoping the Sewing Up Fairy would come and visit and have been leaving a ball of yarn under my pillow each night, but alas, the fairy has not visited and it looks like I will just have to get on with it. In between finishing off making Christmas cards, decorating the tree, trying to keep the bunny from attacking the tree etc. etc......

Peruvian Llama Earflap Hat

Oh I just love this hat. It's exactly what I wanted and keeps my ears lovely and warm. Unfortunately my DH has also taken rather a liking to it and is threatening to take it to work so I've had to resort to hiding it. The last thing he took to work I'd knitted was fingerless gloves. He ruined them in one day. How he managed to turn them into a massive ball of fluff I don't know. However, I won't make that mistake again and the hat is staying hidden away well out of sight. It took me ages to find this site and the fab Llama Peruvian Hat pattern. There's another pattern for a Snowflake Hat from this page too. I looked at tons of hats but nothing was quite right. Now of course Interweave Knits have a similar pattern on their website. Always the way eh? I could see myself in another one though.....



There must be something about the hat though as when I took it out to show the manager in House of Fraser (yes, another discount day!) last Thursday there was a bit of a stampede as eagle eyed knitters charged over demanding to know what pattern it was, and what I was knitting it in and of course how lovely it was. Even though it looked rather a tangled mess being only half finished, it had that 'I want one of those' quality about it. It was ever so flattering and my DH watched over these proceedings thoroughly amused.

I only bought 2 balls of Rowan Yorkshire Tweed DK in Goose as it matches my scarf and just kinda caught my eye. My husband bought me Big Wool Fusion in Source for Laura which has been on my list of wants for a while. That was a thank you for some work related stuff I'd done for him. And I can proudly admit that at the current time (ie till the next round of magazines are issued) there are no more projects I want to buy yarn for. How long this lasts is anyones guess but it's a nice feeling, however short it lasts!



Which means of course that all the other designs I initially liked haven't made it to the 'must knit' list. Like Rowan Spray designs......I tried to like the yarn but it just isn't doing it for me. Too much acrylic for my liking I'm afraid and rather expensive, even for my yarn snob tastes! I don't mind paying for luxurious yarn for something I know I'll love knitting and will wear to death but it has to be pretty special to make it to the 'must knit' list. Then how come the must knit list is still so big then???

I had a think about all the gloves/mittens I had lying around, in various stages of progess. And it dawned on me that I want them to be quick knits with no major headaches. Just a nice easy project so that all you need is a few hours concentration and thats it. But some of them have been not as successful so I had a sort out.

So now Eowyn is frogged and I've gone off RYC Soft Tweed as well. I do want lovely fingerless gloves, but would rather have 100% natural ones rather than any manmade fibres. So the unused ball of Soft Tweed will be returned. Not being able to use Kid Classic probably didn't help matters. I still love the Eowyn pattern, but for me its too pretty and not practical enough. I think the cable will just get in the way. What I really want is the ones in Last Minute Knitted Gifts. And these are what I shall have! I have some leftover Noro Silk Garden just begging to be turned into fingerless gloves ;)



My flip-top fingerless mitts very nearly got frogged although they were pretty much finished. I kind of regret the colour I used. They'd have been suited to gloves without the flip tops really as its such a cutsie colour. Flip-top mitts are kind of funky. But you live and learn. I still like them, my DH loves them though what possessed me to make in that colour I have no idea. Its not like I have a pink scarf or hat...... but they're warm and work well - after a LOT of tweaking and frogging. I ended up ribbing the tops of the mitts and they're much more comfortable and look much better that way too. That just leaves the Biggy Print ones to decide on....



We have a thief in the house. Yes, our adorable bunny Thunder has become a very talented and amusing thief. He steals stuff and runs off with it. He doesn't even care when you tell him off! He really is so naughty. Good job he's so lovable with it. I was tempted to take a picture of him whilst caught in the act but thought that would only encourage him so instead we have a cute bunny pic.

The Brutal Truth

Your Birthdate: April 30

You have the type of personality that people either love or hate. You're opinionated, dramatic, intense, and very outspoken. And some people can't get enough of you - they're totally addicted. Others, well, they wish you were a little more reserved. Your strength: Your flair Your weakness: If you think it, you say it Your power color: Scarlet red Your power symbol: Inverted triangle Your power month: March

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Talk about spot on. It's embarrassing really, now everyone knows just what I'm like!

My husband's one of course made him sound like an angel. What a difference.....

What of course they don't say is that I can of course be a real sweetie and that my DH can be a complete devil. But then they wouldn't be as much fun then would they? Thanks to Mandella (I think!) as it was on her blog I first saw it.

Remember I said the collar wouldn't take long on my Biggy Print jacket. Well, it wouldn't have done if I hadn't run out mid collar. Because of the problem with one of the balls all I was left with was a few ends that I was keeping for sewing up and no way did I want the collar to be full of joins. So off we went again to John Lewis and I was most cross. But the lovely Alison, the Rowan rep in our store, was there and let me have a replacement ball. And off home we went and I redid the collar. BUT then decided I might want a longer collar so I'm waiting till its all sewn up so I can decide on the length as I want the zip to go all the way to the top of the collar. Currently its on the lounge floor. Sleeves have been sewn in. Just waiting for sides and arm seams. Just, she says. Great thing is that it took about 10 mins to do each sleeve! Wow, I like that. Lets hope the rest of the seams are as quick.

Lizzy is waiting for her arms to be pressed and sewn in before I can finish the sewing up and attach the frilly bits on the ends of her arms. The frilly bits on the front are done and look lovely.

For over a week now I've just had no time to myself, hence the late post. I've been making numerous trips back and forth to garages and had no car pretty much most of the time. Having do to a 2 hour trek to the garage that did some work on my car to make sure they would repair the rust that has now appeared on the work they did really didn't help matters much either. They've agreed the work comes under their warranty so its another trek back on Monday and another week without a car......



I have managed to start a lovely hat with earflaps which I'm really enjoying knitting even though it has quite a bit of fairisle. It's made me realise I prefer fairisle to intarsia. Excuse the numerous balls in the picture! A normal person would have 1 ball per colour, but oh no not me. I'm doubling up the main colour with Rowanspun DK and using 4 balls each Rowanspun 4Ply for the other 2 colours. Which makes a delightful mess if I don't keep a very watchful eye on it, even more so as the lovely now discontinued Rowanspun are tweedy yarns which seem to delight in sticking together like glue! Oh I can't wait will its done though. A hat with earflaps. Pure joy!

A Surreal Experience

I'm pleased to say I started to feel vaguely alive on Thursday and was much better on Friday so had a lovely weekend. And so started the most surreal experience with Biggy Print. Now, I've used it before, love it and am always amazed how quickly it knits up. But I've never made anything bigger than a scarf. So on Thursday evening I felt well enough to start a new project, a fitted zipped jacket pattern for Rowan International members that had been recommended to me by Linda who'd already made it. And to my amazement by Sunday night I'd finished the front and the back.

It is really weird spending a few hours knitting and then the back suddenly appears. It's almost like magic. I mean, I'd really not been spending much time knitting at all. Very odd. You'd think seeing as I make quite a bit in Big Wool or Colinette Point 5 I'd be used to super bulky yarns. But Biggy Print is really something else. So of course Sunday had to involve a trip to JL to have a look at the zips. I've got a couple in 2 lengths so one of them should be ideal. No doubt the collar won't take long either.

I had a strange occurence happen with a ball of Biggy Print though. The middle of a ball of fell out while I was knitting with it. Hmm. Rather odd I thought. Then it dawned on me the middle of the ball couldn't fall out - or could it? On closer inspection, the middle was 4 short cut lengths. Weird or what. I took it back to JL and they refunded the ball. Never had that happen before.

I also managed to snap one of my favourite 5" Brittany DPNs on a fiddly K2tog. Luckily they're guaranteed so a replacement should wing its way to me soon.

The last odd event happened when I managed to return an Amazon rental DVD case back to them - but without the DVD in it! Oh well. These things happen. Funny how its always in three's though.....



And finally, a picture of Shingle. She'd been waiting for the ties to be done for just ages. I really got the timing of her wrong. Usually I manage to work it really well so that I can wear whatever I've made. But I started her too late in the year and it only dawned on me that she needs to go over a camisole/vest top once she was finished and I'd tried her on. I was disappointed at the time but she does look lovely and will be perfect for next year.

Crazy Electra Socks

I found out the name of these umm 'vivid' socks and boy they're apt. Crazy Electra. I've fallen in love with them more and more and they are currently at the no. 1 favourite sock spot. The stretch yarn is fantastic. I'd hearn some people had trouble with it or just weren't that keen, me, I think its brilliant and want some more. In fact, it will be quite hard work going back to just plain old 4 ply. Except for Lorna's Laces of course. They are always an exception.

I'm afraid that's pretty much it on the FO front. I'm poorly and have been for a few days now and not ventured out into the real world since Friday. So the knitting is very very quiet as my head and brain no longer seem to function. I can manage socks as I can just do a few rows here and there. Thank god for socks......

And why is it when you're ill you think of all the knitting you could get done while you're resting but of course it never happens. If you're ill knitting becomes the equivalent of doing brain surgery. I'm at the stage when I'm looking forward to actually having the energy to do some cleaning and dusting! Things must be bad then.

My leg warmers have come in very handy lately and are one of the most surprisingly useful items I've made recently. Which reminds me, I am now the pround owner of Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Nothing unusual about this you think? Well getting the book has been what can only be described as a challenge. I had it on order with Amazon for 3 months before they cancelled. Why oh why does it take so long to get a book that is easily available in the US? Just don't get it. Anyway, shortly after cancelling I saw it on Amazon with a 1-2 week wait (rather than the 3-5 that ended up over 12!) so I tried ordering it again, only to find the day after it was back to the 3-5 week wait again. So finally, in desperation, I investigated ordering it via Amazon Marketplace from the US. To my surprise I found out the postage was the same as ordering from a UK company. So of course I quickly ordered it and it arrived in about 12 days and was a nice cheer me up on Saturday.

It is a lovely book however something rather odd happened. My husband likes one of the patterns - but for HIMSELF! This is a first, he's never wanted to make him anything more than maybe gloves. I am not sure how I feel about this. I mean if he asks me to make it I can hardly say no, but crumbs, I could make 2 tops out of his 1 - at least....... and knowing my boredom threshold is practically nonexistent, would it ever be finished? Lets hope nothing more is mentioned. Must go and hide the book now.....



Finally Thunder says a big thank you to everyone thinking of him. He's totally healed up and is as bonking mad as ever. The only thing that seems to calm him down when he's in one of his mad as a hatter moods is 1. food (no surprise there) and 2. a lovely scratch on the ear which sends him all gooey and cuddly. Bless.

Colder Days

It definitely feels like winter has arrived over the past week. The heating has gone on and the scarves I made have come in very handy. I really need to finish some of my gloves and armwarmers that I have started though. I think I have 3 pairs in various stages now. My fingers are starting to get rather cold......and I have an urge to do jigsaw puzzles which is total proof that winter has surely arrived.

Lizzy is coming along really well. One sleeve finished and another started so shouldn't be too long before the finishing gets started. Which might take longer than expected as she has frills on the edges of just about everywhere.



Poor Thunder had his op with no problems and was recovering quite nicely. I was due to take him for his checkup on Friday and before going noticed that things were not quite right. As I suspected, he decided stitches were not for him so he removed them. Luckily the wound is small so I just need to bathe twice daily in salt water. This seems to have done the trick and everything seems to be healing up nicely. He seems to be back to his mad old self and is bouncing round the room like nobody's business.



House of Fraser had one of their 25% discount days last Thursday and I just HAD to go. I didn't actually need anything, but boy did I want something. I had a good think before I went and decided on yarn to make the Lana Grossa cardi I fell in love with a little while back. They only had 20% discount off the yarn though this time which was a first as its always been 25%, but still a good deal as it was something I'd been wanting for a little while.

All those balls of frogged ASC have been looking at in a kind of questioning way, asking me what is to become of them. I can't see me making anything to wear for a while so I'm using up some of the smaller balls to make dishcloths and washcloths. They've never appealed to me before but now I rather like the idea, and its get rid of a few balls of ASC into the bargain.



So no surprises that my first facecloth is a bunny design which I finished in a couple of hours for my DH. He said it worked very well in the bath last night but wanted to know where the black eyes and fluffy white tail are. I'm sure men are worse than children ;) I'm going to make a dishcloth next and will do a a house pattern. I found this site full of cute dishcloth patterns and will probably make a few. I'll go down a needle size for the next one though, and see how it turns out. That's the great thing about them, the gauge doesn't really matter. You can always whip up another and of course being machine washable comes in very handy. I wonder if I'll actually manage to finish any gloves now that I've discovered the joys of knitted cloths.....

Saddle Shoulders Are Evil

I've finished the gorgeous Regan scarf from Big Just Got Bigger in the gorgeous Splash colourway. Many thanks Linda for the yarn you sent me - I got just a couple more balls as the yarn just screamed scarf at me. It's lovely and warm and I'm now the proud owner of a proper big superbulky scarf. Not that its cold enough to wear yet but no doubt won't be long.

Macey is dead. She died last night. Well, to be exact she has been frogged. She was not turning out as expected. I was actually sewing - ahem 'attempting' - the collar on with that feeling in your tummy that says, you hate her, she is horrid, you won't wear her. So I left it and had a little chat with DH who agreed I would never be happy with her and that was that. Funny how relieved I was once I started frogging her.

It all really started with the saddle shoulder seams and the realisation that it was practically impossible to get a nice neat seam. Or anything resembling even half decent might not have been too bad. I like my seams perfect you see. It never actually dawned on me that she had saddle shoulders or if I had noticed, it wouldn't have occurred to me that saddle shoulders are pure evil and are designed to drive us totally insane trying to get them to look right. Yes, just utter pure evil. In fact, there should be law against using them in hand knitted designs. It took me hours trying to get them to just 'ok' standard and I was not happy. She almost ruined my Sunday she did. Didn't matter how many times I redid them, they never looked that good. And if that wasn't bad enought, the stupid sewing on of the collar was hard work too. Sewing it on with slip stitch didn't look right, and mattress stitch was no good either as it was too loose.

I was disappointed at the time especially with the saddle shoulders, but now quite happy. She is gone and is no more with her crappy seams bugging me and her stupid collar annoying the hell out of me. Verdict - saddle shoulders are crap. What is the point in them? No wonder I've never seen them before on a knitted design. I know why now! And I'm a bit put off with All Seasons Cotton too. I've seen it used on kids stuff and looks great, but all I can think of is I'd much rather be knitting with Calmer. I am definitely a tactile knitter (aka Yarn Snob)!

So I have to apologise to Linda who is also knitting Macey. I hope I haven't frightened you off and that she gives you less trouble! I know people that have made her and been happy - though all admit the saddle shoulders are a nightmare. But she is just not for me.

Lizzy, which is such a joy to knit, is finally getting arms. The only reason I hadn't started is the design has short sleeves and I want long ones so I tried to plan a quiet half hour or so to work that out. This of course is unlikely to happen so I gave in and worked it out whilst watching tv. She is so soothing after recent events and much needed.......



My very bright sock is finished and the colour has really grown on me. I've used Regia Stretch and love the feel of it. Although the yarn looks like it should be for a toddler, it is perfect for autumn when the days are grey and rainy and you need a bit of sunshine in your day.



I had fun and games knitting some convertible mittens - originally they were going to have fingers and after some frogging gave up that idea. One is finished and I rather like them. I'm almost looking forward to colder weather so I can try them and see if they work ok.

I managed to find a UK supplier of the Knitting 2006 Daily Boxed Calender which I'd been hearing about. I can definitely recommend Calender Club for quick service as I got my copy the day after ordering. They have branches around the UK so I thought I'd ring my local one to see if they had a copy but they didn't, but the very nice guy gave me the office number and a code for free shipping into the bargain. So I am most impressed as it has cost me just £9.99! As I bought it for myself I've opened it and gone through the patterns. There is a real variety and several that I will definitely make.



Poor Thunder is off to the vets tomorrow for an operation. He's got a little frisky in the last week and after a check up at the vets yesterday was declared 'most definitely ready'! I feel sorry for him already though. He's so young still and so cute looking.......but my husband is getting a bit fed up as he seems to be the target of Thunders attentions ;)