Ramblings of a yarn junkie

My new toy

2010-09-16T06:43:00.000-07:00

I have a new plaything.

Can you guess what it is?

10 points to anyone who said 'book charkha - short fibres, for the spinning of'. Charkas are usually used to spin cotton but can also spin short-staple fine wools,silk, cashmere & quiviut - not that I'm likely to ever afford the latter.

It arrived today from loopfrogs, a fellow raveller & I had to have a wee play, despite there being dishes in the sink, laundry in the machine & who-knows-what all over the carpet.

I suck :0D

My long-draw skillz are non-existent anyway & between that & the fact that I've never spun anything other than wool . . .

Anyway here are pics -

& a close-up of my lol-worthy spinning (see what I mean about the carpet?) -

Still, like the song said things can only get better (or the charkha might get lobbed in the Forth but hopefully it won't come to that).

New pattern

2010-07-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

I wanted to make Mhara a shrug to keep her covered up at nursery since they're not allowed to play outside in the sun with bare shoulders. I had very definite ideas of how I wanted it to look - just covering the shoulders & with flared cuffs - & it turned out exactly as I pictured it. I was so chuffed I did a few sums & wrote it up for 3 different sizes, 2-4, 5-7 & 8-10 & it's now up for sale on ravelry & through my etsy shop.

& here's Mhara modelling her shrug -

Tour de Fleece day 8

Not a lot to report today - hopefully tomorrow's scraps will be a bit more colourful :0D

Tour de Fleece Week 1

2010-07-09T13:25:00.000-07:00

That's week 1 gone already!

The spindle was getting heavy enough to break the yarn last night so this morning I wound off onto a spare bobbin (I intend to ply from the kate so will need the yarn on bobbins anyway for that). There was a lot more than I thought; tho' I've no idea what the yardage may be it took ages to wind off.

I decided to break out the mosaic-maker again for my end-of-week photo so without further ado, here it is.

This isn't all the crafting I've been doing today but it is all I can show - for now ;0)

Tour de Fleece day 5

2010-07-07T13:19:00.000-07:00

Back to muted colours. I'm missing the zingy citrus colours but I do have 700g of superwash merino fibre & lots of koolaid so I may be having a play with those once the tour is done :0D

No other crafting today, just lots of tidying. I do plan to head off to bed shortly with a cuppa & a crochet hook however . . .

Tour de Fleece day 4

2010-07-06T13:11:00.001-07:00

Just a quickie update on the progress of the spindled scraps -

Surprisingly enough, I'm still enjoying this. I guess the constant changing of the colours is helping keep it fresh. It's also fabulously easy to pick up whenever I have a spare few minutes.

Shop update

2010-07-06T11:26:00.000-07:00

I've been busy. This morning on etsy I listed this headband -

& this afternoon I made not one but five orifice hooks, ready to be listed tomorrow once I get decent pics taken -

I also set up a Folksy shop, YarnJunkie. There's not much in it yet but I'll see what I can get together over the next few weeks.

Stringalong

2010-07-05T13:04:00.000-07:00

Mhara got a bead box at the pound shop this morning & Rowan was going to get one too ‘til he spotted a pack of wee cars. Sure enough, by mid-afternoon he'd decided he should’ve got the beads after all so I trawled my bead box for all the chunky plastic ones I could find. To start with he had a hairy fit every time a bead wouldn’t go on the string 1st time but after unearthing some plastic cord he was off & running.

This kept my usually hyper wee boy quiet for over an hour & he went back to it after his tea. I’ve promised them more beads next time we go up town :0D

Tour de Fleece days 2 & 3

Not a huge amount done but here's day 2's effort -

& day 3 (without all the pretty fluff as a backdrop 'cos it's upstairs & I'm too idle to go get it)-

I’ve gotten through 4 different scraps so far & am finding it a huge challenge to switch between different breeds but it’s all good, if slow :0D

Free Pattern - One Currant Bun in a Baker's Shop

2010-07-04T13:20:00.000-07:00

Round & fat with a cherry on the top.

I made this for Mhara so she could have a princess hairdo for a friend's birthday party.

Yarn: DK weight
Hook: 4.5mm
Notions: 1 narrow covered elastic ponytail band
Pattern uses UK crochet terms

Ch4 & sl st in 1st ch to form a ring.

Round 1: Ch1 (does not count as st), work 6 dc into ring, sl st in 1st dc.
Round 2: Ch2, trc2tog in same st, ch3, [trc3tog, ch3] in each st to end, join with sl st to top of trc2tog at beginning of round.
Round 3: Sl st to 1st 3-ch space, [ch2, trc2tog, ch3, trc3tog] in 1st ch sp, [trc3tog, ch3, trc3tog] in each ch sp to end, join with sl st to top of trc2tog at beginning of round.
Round 4: Sl st to 2nd ch of 1st 3-ch sp, ch1, 1 dc in same ch sp, ch 5, [1 dc in next ch sp, ch 5] to end, sl st in 1st dc.
Round 5: Sl st to 5rd ch of 1st 5-ch sp, ch1, 1 dc in same ch sp, ch 4, [1 dc in next ch sp, ch 4] to end, sl st in 1st dc.
Round 6: Ch1, place ponytail elastic on top of last row worked & work 4 dcs into each ch sp making sure you crochet over the ponytail band as well, sl st into 1st dc.
Round 7*: Ch 1, dc in same st, ch2, sl st into 2nd ch from hook, dc in next st, [dc in next st, ch2, sl st into 2nd ch from hook, dc in next st] to end, sl st in 1st ds at beginning of round.

Fasten off & weave in ends.

*The picot edging gives the bun cover the look of an old-fashioned mob cap. It looks sweet but is entirely optional.

This cover fits my 5 year old, who has a pretty decent head of hair (thick, straight & halfway down her back). If you want to make it larger, repeat round 3 another time or two, making sure that you increase the length of the chain by 1 for each additional round. You will also need to increase the length of the chains in rounds 4 & 5 by 1 chain for every extra row you work & the number of dcs in round 6 should correspond to the number of chains in round 5.

As always, if you come across a mistake or feel I'm blethering a load of nonsense, please feel free to tell me either in the comments, by email or on ravelry where I go by the name of cherryred.

You may make as many of these as you like to sell for charity as long as you give credit for the design to me, Shirley MacDonald. Please do not reproduce this pattern or use it for personal profit.

Happy crocheting :0)

Tour de Fleece 2010 - Day 1

2010-07-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

I've been saving my scraps from the second scrap swap on ravelry's UK Spinners forum specially so I could spin them during the tour. Here they are in all their loveliness -

I have about 200g of different breeds (all next-to-skin-soft)& a rainbow of colours, all broken down & mixed up into a big fibery pudding. Colour progression will be 'lucky dip'; I'll be closing my eyes & sticking my hand in the bag & whatever comes out (as long as it's not the same as the previous bit) will get spun. I'd love to get the full 200g spun & plied *but* I want to spindle-spin the whole lot & since the most I've had the patience to spin on a spindle before was about 15g the chance of me doing all 200g is erm slim. Still, as long as I get enough spun for this hat, I'll be happy.

Day 1 saw me breaking the scraps into roughly even pieces & I even managed to get a (tiny) little bit spun -

Playing with sticks & string

2010-07-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

So, I got my weaving sticks yesterday & since I have zero patience or willpower - who wants delayed gratification when you can have the instant kind? - I had a wee fiddle around with them last night.

The end result of a couple of happy hours cutting, winding & braiding is a hairband that is currently holding (most of) my mop out of my eyes.

Here's an action shot.

Yes, I know I look a little deranged but it's damn hard to take a decent picture of the top of your own head without a mirror, which is why I gave up & decided to go with a rotten shot instead. I'd have asked Iain to help but he's busy watching the football & I'm too impatient to wait 'til half-time - this may change if the pic I've just uploaded is really as bad as it looked on the camera screen.

Edit - woo, you can tell I didn't sleep well last night, can't you?

I love my postie

2010-07-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

I do. I probably couldn't pick the man out of a line-up but I love him anyway because of all the pretty parcels he brings me.

Here are today's goodies -

Lurking at the bottom of the pile is a set of weaving sticks from The Handweaving Company to help keep the kids occupied during the holidays. I ordered them yesterday afternoon & they arrived today with free delivery - result!

The yarnz came in a package all the way from France & were sent by the lovely Yvette, a raveller who I'm hoping to get to meet sometime soon. There's a skein of Colinette Banyan, a cotton blend that's destined to become a crocheted hairband to keep my out-of-control hair off my face while it grows out a bit (keep an eye out 'cos the pattern will be going up on the blog as a freebie), a partial skein of Fyberspates Sparkle Sock & some glittery gold & silver yarn so I can make a properly metallic version of this -

Yes, I know it looks like a marital aid for robots but it's actually the sonic screwdriver that Rowan asked me to make so he & his sister can play Doctor Who properly.

Crafting with the kids

2010-07-01T06:06:00.000-07:00

Two posts in one day - I'm on a roll!

It was the last day of nursery today & the kids wanted gifts for their teachers. I figured it'd be a nice touch if they helped make said gifts so we got out the fibre basket yesterday & got messy making some felt.

Choosing colours -

Working hard -

Drying in the sun (which sadly hasn't shown its face today) -

All done & ready to hand over -

The recipients were thrilled & hopefully the brooches will get at least the occasional airing.

Naughty, naughty.

2010-07-01T05:50:00.000-07:00

Oops, has it been 6 months already? It's okay - I didn't keep any of my other resolutions either. Still, I'm here now so what have I been up to?

The short answer is not a lot. I've been making stuff but haven't been organised enough to keep track so I think I'll just start afresh from now.

Major excitement recently has been 2 new crochet patterns available either through ravelry or from my etsy shop.

First is Lady Marmalade, a burlesque-inspired washcloth (or dishcloth if that's what turns you on) -

Second is Velvet Kitty, a cat o' nine tails/flogger with optional beads for a little added sting -

I did put naughty in the title for a reason y'know ;0)

I'm baaaaaaack!!!!

2010-01-13T06:58:00.000-08:00

& I can't believe how neglected this poor blog has become! So, since it's a new year & I'm full of (very likely temporary) good intentions, I've resolved to update at least once a week. We'll see how long it lasts.

First thing I guess is to have a quick rundown of the second half of 2009 - you know, the bit that I've totally missed. There's been a wedding (not mine), a holiday, the usual swaps & loads of other stuff. Here goes . . .

The end of July saw DH's niece get married. I was thrilled - at last, an excuse to buy DS his first kilt! & knit him kilt hose to go with it.

DD3 also got to wear the party shrug I crocheted for her & I even managed to knock up a quick shawl for me - a good thing too as the wedding was held at Aberdour Castle & the wind whistling through the ruins was rather chilly. Check out my new silk dress too - in Monsoon's sale at 70% off woot!

On ravelry there were a couple of big swaps;

In the Swapperneckers group I got the most fantabulous package from bcowgirlswt -

Noms

The scrummiest fingering-weight alpaca & fibre, fibre, fibre (plus a 3.25mm crochet hook - a size that I just can't get here in the UK) -

There were even noms for the kids -

In the Ankh-Morpork Knitter's Guild we had the big Guild Swap when midatlantic totally outdid herself;

I entered as a member of the Guild of Seamstresses (hem hem) so the scantily-clad chocolate goddess was appropriate as well as delicious;

As well as all the goodies in the pic there was a beautiful extra-long hot pink skinny scarf, crocheted by midatlantic. Sadly, I still haven't gotten a good pic of this despite wearing it almost constantly altho' you will see it peeping out of my collar in a couple of our holiday snaps.

Here's the package I sent midatlantic in return;

The wrap was crocheted in a 50/50 wool/acrylic blend & was a joy to make;

The AMKG also had a Detritus mini swap when I got a fabulous spinny parcel from Brownie22;

In October we had a week in Pitlochry & were lucky enough to have almost a whole week of good weather, which meant lots of walks in woods & around lochs as well as a fair few ice cream cones from the kiosk by the river (Baileys ice cream - om nom nom);

pit

I can't leave out Halloween! DD3 was easy to outfit - she took one look at a cat costume in Asda & fell in love. DS was a bit more problematical since he decided he wanted to be the dragon from Room on the Broom & there's a distinct lack of dragon costumes in the shops. Thankfully I had a big skein of red yarn that turned out to be enough for a dragon hat, fingerless mitt 'claws' & a pair of wings to sew onto a black tunic;

Over the last few months of 2009 I joined Hogwarts @ Ravelry (just cuz I'm a big kid) & have been taking part in various classes.

For transfiguration I crocheted & felted an owl using my own pattern. Here he is with the house scarf (i'm in Hufflepuff heh) & the wand, both crocheted to my own patterns too.

There was also a temporary transfiguration project so I crocheted a cabled headband/earwarmer/neckwarmer using my own handspun. It has 3 different interchangeable flowers. This was my own pattern too.

For Astronomy we had to write about a celestial body, then spin/knit/crochet a representation of it & *then* knit or crochet a moebius scarf, cowl or shawl (something I've wanted to try for a while). I chose Aries, which represents the golden ram whose fleece was stolen by Jason & the Argonauts. I decided to use this as my theme for the whole clas & spun up some golden fleece (heh) for assignment 2;

& used the resultant yarn to knit my moebius cowl;

For Apparitions class I made the dragon outfit for DS but you've already seen that so I don't have to add more pics :0D

So, I think that's me mostly caught up (& if there's anyone still reading this far down then good on ya!). I've loads of stuff on the go still but if I actually manage to stick to regular posting no-one'll have to trawl through such an epic post again ;0)

Cheers for reading,

S x

My knee is killing me!

2009-07-28T02:01:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I can see me breaking out the walking stick again for the first time in years & I really don't want to do that. Then again, 'tis my own fault since I actually did it - I did the Tour de Fleece! Yeah okay so it's not like I did anything remotely comparable to cycling around the Alps for 3 weeks but I did at least do what I set out to do.

Here's a wee round-up (copied & pasted from my rav posts 'cos I'm too lazy to type it all out again). Be warned, this is gonna be a long post :0D

Day 8

I spent yesterday arvo washing & whacking week one's output & dyeing up this -

100g of 25.5 micron merino, split in half & dyed with KoolAid. Top braid was dyed with strawberry, strawberry-kiwi & tropical punch & bottom was grape & black cherry.

The plan is to spin them separately then ply & I just spent the last 2 & a half hours spinning the first -

Complete with gratuitous coin shot :0D

Day 9

Another 2 & a half hours spinning up the second braid of KoolAid-dyed merino. I now have a pink/purple single to ply with the pink/red -

No more spinning for me today tho' unless I break out a spindle - all this treadling is bringing back an old knee problem & I *really* don't want to end up on a walking stick again. It was bad enough last time & I didn't have toddlers to chase after then :0P

Day 10

Rest day. I did spend 1 hour in the evening plying up the purple/red merino that I spun up over the weekend, mainly to free up my 3 bobbins for day 11 :0D

Day 11

Hand-carded some mystery blue fluff with some hand-painted silk top to get lots of fluffy rolags. Spent just 30 minutes spinning today as I'm trying to learn longdraw & getting very frustrated :0P

Day 12

Another 30 minutes spinning the mystery wool/silk rolags longdraw.

Day 13

Finally seem to be getting the idea of longdraw. Spent 1 hour finishing the wool/silk rolags. The plan is to spin up a textured batt tomorrow & ply the 2 together - I was never going to get an even single while attempting longdraw so am going for a textured yarn this time :0)

Day 14

An hour & a half spinning the wool/silk/alpaca/sparkle batt. I was very meh when I saw this & the wool/silk from yesterday side by side OTB but had to ply anyway to free up the bobbins (since I only have 3 :0D). I'm glad I did 'cos I love the finished yarn. It's aran to chunky weight, soft & squishy & I suspect will be very warm. Roughly 95 yards too so maybe enough for a hat or some wristwarmers. Took another 45 minutes to ply & I used the rest of the wool/silk single to practice navajo-ply.

ETA managed another hour & a half off & on through the day spinning some (possibly) merino roving that I got in a swap. Pics to follow when I find the new camera batteries :0P

Day 15

Went to Edinburgh today to get 2 year old DS a kilt & came home knackered so only managed about 30 minutes spinning. Still working on the mystery-but-probably-merino fibre.

Day 16

Much better today. Spent 2 hours finished the mystery singles then about 45 minutes plying them. This started out as 4 small braids of mystery fibre which I suspect is commercially-dyed merino. I broke each braid into 3 then stripped 'em in half & spun them into 2 singles. I had thought about chain-plying but I really wanted the colours to run into each other so 2-plied them & the result is 205 yards of roughly DK-weight which I've called Sunshiney Day -

Day 17

Sort of rested (ie didn't spin) but spent 2 & a half hours carding some merino, silk & cashmere into rolags.

Day 18

Only managed about 20 minutes spinning the merino/silk/cashmere thanks to my treadling knee playing up.

Day 19

Knee still playing up so just 30 minutes today on the merino/silk/cashmere.

Day 20

Another 20 minutes *still* spinning the merino/silk/cashmere . . . am slowly losing the will to live. Decided I needed a break & spent an hour carding some chocolate merino, biscuit alpaca & toffee camel into rolags to be plied with the white single.

Then felt hungry & went off for a chocolate biscuit - Mint Clubs mmmmm.

Day 21

Had a big push & spent about 1.5 hours finishing the white merino/silk/cashmere. I've discovered that I dislike spinning natural-coloured (or at least all-white) fibre as I have the attention span of a concussed kitten & need to see the changing colours winding onto the bobbin to keep me focussed :0P

Day 22

About 30 minutes spinning the first of the merino/alpaca/camel - lush!

Day 23

Half-filled the bobbin with the merino/alpaca/camel then got impatient & decided to start plying to see what it'll look like. I don't have a jumbo flyer & am working with about 160g of fibre so this was always gonna be plied in 2 halves anyway.

I now have 170 yards of gorgeously squishy, roughly DK-weight merino/silk/cashmere/alpaca/camel (talk about overkill lol) with probably about the same length again on the first bobbin - just have to finish carding & spinning the darker fibres & I'll hopefully have enough for a really lush scarf for me me me :0D

This has actually been a really challenging week, dodgy knee & all - I have very little experience with the hand carders & with spinning from rolags so it was very slow going plus poor Daphne isn't used to being used so hard & has been protesting (I've just ordered a maintenance kit - I think she deserves it).

The Tour has been fantastic tho' & this year I actually did manage to spin every day with a pretty reasonable amount of yarn at the end of it all. I even managed to get a group shot of all my yarnz minus the very first of the tour which has already been sent off in a swap gift.

See that pic in the bottom right? That's how I feel right now.

I did count up my time total t'other night & it came in at 41 hours which cannot be right so I'm gonna do it again when I have an uninterrupted 10 minutes (yeah, right) & see what the proper figure is.

It's been a great tour tho' & I'm looking forward to next year's - I'll just make damn sure I have a double treadle wheel for 2010!

I'll finish this post with my effort for the 'Creative Display' prize category on the TdeF group -

Yep, I really do need to get out more ;0)

Le Tour de Fleece Days 5-7

2009-07-10T03:34:00.000-07:00

Day 5

I did 2 hours this morning spinning the first of a pair of gorgeous 90/10 merino/nylon batts from Colourful Designs -

And I finally got a pic of the BFL/silk from day 4 -

I'm having such fun :0D

Day 6

I didn't get a chance to spin during the day as I was out with the 2 littlies so 6:15 saw me standing at the side of the road with Daphne the Ashford Traddy waiting on the bus. Yep, you read right - the bus. Damn near caused a few accidents thanks to passing drivers rubbernecking - you'd think they'd never seen someone carrying a spinning wheel before. I headed off to knitting group, spun for the full 2 hours & finished the second merino/nylon batt so shall be plying tomorrow :0)

Day 7

I haz yarn barf!

I always spin to ply but long to spin a nice chunky single that I'll be happy to leave as a single & well, this ain't it -

Can anyone say 'overspun'?

*Braaaaaiiiinnnns! Braaaiiinnnns!*

I spent 1 & a half hours doing this. Part of me is sitting, head in hands going WTF is that? & another part is loling & going woah, cool! I'll wash & whack the hell out of it & see what happens but I suspect it'll eventually wind up plied with something commercially spun . . .

On a happier note I also spent 45 minutes plying the merino/nylon from yesterday -

I now have 256 yards of gorgeously squooshy DKish crochet-spun yarn that is destined to become a pretty scarf.

Le Tour de Fleece Days 1 - 4

2009-07-08T00:57:00.000-07:00

Le Tour de Fleece

The aim - spin a little (or a lot) every day of the Tour de France. If you can co-ordinate it with the race itself (ie spin something challenging during the difficult mountain stages) so much the better.

So I'm taking part again & hopefully this year I'll stick to it. Last year I lasted 3 days so I've already beat my previous record :0D

My goals

1) spin up as much of my sadly neglected stash as possible
2) learn to spin proper longdraw (my usual method is a short backwards draw)
3) spin some different fibres (silk, alpaca, etc as well as wools I've never spun before)

I'm so chuffed - I'd lost my spinning mojo early in the year & from January had only spun about 60g of merino in about 5 months. Since Saturday 4th July I've finished the rest of the merino & spun 100g of jacob & 100g of the BFL/silk. I'm spinning for Team LSG (lazy, stupid & godless) on ravelry & am posting my daily progress there. Since I definitely embody the 'L' in our title I'm just gonna cut & paste my rav posts :0D

Day 1

I just spent the last 3 hours spinning up the last 40g or so of this -

merino from Halona Yarns.

I've hardly spun at all this year & I'm pretty sure this has been OTB since before xmas. Since I only have the 3 bobbins I'm gonna have to ply tomorrow before I can spin anything else & since 1 has been relaxing for about 6 months & the other is only just spun & springy as fk it should be an interesting experience . . .

Day 2

I plied the Halona Yarns merino from yesterday (took about 2 hours) -

close up -

There was a wee bit left on one bobbin & being the kind of person who can't bear to see anything go to waste (hey, I'm a Scot) I plied some of it with a wee bit of merino then n-plied the rest -

Once my bobbins were freed up I spent another 2 & a half hours spinning up the first half of some kettle dyed jacob humbug from Shunklies on etsy -

and here's the other half ready to go tomorrow -

So all in all that's 4 & a half hours spinning for me today (& no housework :0P).

Day 3

Spent an hour spinning up the rest of the jacob humbug from Shunklies -

I was trying to spin thicker but am finding it really difficult - I managed a little bit thicker but not much :0S

Am not sure whether to n-ply (which was the original plan) or head up to the Mad Crafter for a big spool of shiny thread & ply with that instead. It was lovely to spin 'cos the roving was quite skinny - I just opened up the end & spun the whole length as it was, undoing loops as I went to keep the colour progression.

I'll hopefully get more spinning done later but I guess I better do some housewifely stuff now (sigh).

ETA - I was too L to go up town so decided just to n-ply & got exactly what I'd been hoping for when I started - 111 yards of heavy worsted to chunky with a definite colour progression. Only fly in the ointment is that I couldn't fit it all on one one bobbin when plying - I wants a jumbo flyer! {stamps foot}

It took 40 minutes to ply so that's 1 hour 40 for me today. Suppose I'd better do some knitting tonight . . .

pics -

& OMG you guys! I unwound yesterday's bobbin (merino from Halona Yarns) & discovered the best spinning I've ever done! 360 yards at 14 WPI & the most even I've done to date -

I haz a happy :0D

aaaaand finally -

another 2 hours spinning 50g of BFL/silk in blackberries that I received in the 2nd UK spinners group swap. That's the 1st bobbin done so I plan to spin the other 50g tomorrow & ply 'em together. This has been S-spun & will be Z-plied as it's for a crocheter.

I'm done for the day now - my a^se is square :0P

Day 4

So far have spent 1 hour 15 minutes spinning more of the BFL/silk -

Not sure if I'll get much more done today as I have a bathroom to clean then I have to go up town & the in-laws are coming for dinner tonight (spag bol so at least that's easy to make :0D).

ETA

I was too L to go up town so got in another 2 hours 20 minutes this arvo - I now have 249 yards of rather scrummy BFL/silk 2-ply :0D

I'll take pics as soon as I find DH's camera since my camera batteries just died . . .

June CAL - Surfer Rosa Mitts

2009-05-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

Materials

4-ply or fingering weight yarn (takes less than 25g)
3.5mm hook
4 buttons

Chain 6 & join with a slip stitch.

1) Ch2, DC2 tog into ring (counts as 1st petal), ch3, [DC 3 tog into ring, ch3] 5 times, sl st to top of 1st petal.

2) Ch2, DC 3 tog in 1st 3-ch space, ch 5, [DC 4 tog in next 3-ch space, ch5] 5 times, sl st to top of 1st petal.

3) Ch1, (does not count as st), [1 SC, 1 HDC, 7 DC, 1 HDC, 1 SC, ch1] in 1st 4-ch space, [ 1 SC, 1 HDC, 4 DC, ch 12, sl st to top of last DC worked (finger loop made), 3 DC, 1 HDC, 1 SC] in next ch space, [1 SC, 1 HDC, 7 DC, 1 HDC, 1 SC, ch1] in each 4-ch space to end, sl st to 1st SC.

4) Turn so WS is facing. Sl st to centre DC of last petal worked. Ch 4, 1 TRC in next 1-ch space, ch 4, 1 SC in centre DC of next petal, ch 4, 1 TRC in next 1-ch space, ch 4, sl st in centre DC of next petal, turn.

5) Ch 4, 5 TRC in next TRC, [ch 3, 1 DC in centre ch of next ch space] twice, ch 3, 5 TRC in next TRC, 1 TRC in base of starting ch of previous row, turn.

6) Sl st to 1st TRC of 5 TRC cluster. Ch 4 (counts as 1st TRC), TRC 4 tog, ch 5, 1DC in centre ch of next ch space, [ch 4, 1 DC in centre ch of next space] twice, ch 5, TRC 5 tog, turn.

7) RIGHT GLOVE -

Ch 18. 1 SC in 2nd ch from hook, 1 SC in each of next 16 ch, 1 SC in top of TRC cluster, 5 SC in next ch space, 1 SC in next DC, [4 SC in next xh space, 1 SC in next DC] twice, 5 SC in next xh space, 1 SC in top of final TRC cluster (40 SC total), turn.

LEFT GLOVE -

Break yarn & re-attach to other end of last row worked then work as for right glove.

8) Ch 1 (does not count as st), 1 SC in each SC to end, turn.

9) Ch 1 (does not count as st), 1 SC in each of next 2 sts, ch2, skip 1 SC, 1 SC in each of next 2 SC, ch 2, skip 1 SC, 1 SC in each st to end, turn.

10) Ch 1 (does not count as st), 1 SC in each st to end, working 1 SC in each of the 2-ch spaces (40 SC), turn.

11) Ch 1 (does not count as st), 1 SC in each SC to end, turn.

12) Ch 7 (counts as 1 DC & 4 ch), [skip 3 SC, 4 DC in next SC, ch 4] 8 times, 3 DC in base of 7-ch at start of row, sl st to 3rd ch of 7 ch. You will now work in the round.

FOR RIGHT GLOVE ONLY - TURN WORK RIGHT WAY OUT BEFORE CONTINUING.

13) Sl st to 1st ch space. Ch 3 (counts as 1st DC), [2DC, 3 ch, 3 DC] in ch space, [3 DC, 3 ch, 3 DC] in each ch space to end, sl st to top of beginning ch 3, do not turn.

14) Sl st to 1st ch sp. Ch 3 (counts as 1st DC), [2 DC, 3 ch, SC in to 3rd ch from hook (picot made), 3 DC into ch space, ch 1, [3 DC, 3 ch, SC in to 3rd ch from hook, 3 DC, ch 1] into each ch space to end. Join with sl st to top of ch 3. Fasten off.

Weave in ends & sew 2 buttons to the cuff of each glove to correspond with the buttonholes made in row 9.

Rowan where's yer troosers?

2009-04-20T07:56:00.000-07:00

I am so sick of Rowan’s trousers constantly falling down around his knees! I've tried on & off for over a year to buy him braces (belts are useless) but couldn’t find them anywhere so finally went to the craft store to buy brace clips so I could crochet him a set. While at the craft shop I discovered that they sell braces (I’d been looking in clothes shops - silly me) but by that time I had my heart set on making ‘em myself & here they are …

The back straps are static but the front straps are adjustable so these should fit him for a good long while. Mhara now wants a pink pair so I’ll probably write out the pattern as I go along in case anyone else wants to make ‘em :0)

Back view -

So far they've been a success - the combats that kept falling down around his knees on Friday have managed to stay up all day today :0)

The pics were taken yesterday in the garden - it looks like this week is gonna be our Scottish summer as it was actually hot enough to justify ice lollies -

and shades :0)

Swapsies!

2009-04-09T00:57:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been so long since I posted! Okay so I've been kind of busy but even so I am on-line most days (well okay, make that every day - I just rarely seem to get any further than ravelry these days).

Anyway, I'm on now to show off some of what I've been up to & that is - surprise, surprise - swapping (the title possibly gave you a clue).

First up there was a beverage cosy swap on the Scot Swap forum. My partner was Manoute who sent me the coolect Dr Who-inspired knit I've ever seen (as well as a load of other goodies) - my favourite Stash Vanilla Nut Creme tea (the kettle got switched straight on), fudge & cashew nuts, 100g of Lopi Roving in a gorgeous burgundy, a lovely autumn-coloured teapot mitten (that's just like a fingerless glove - totally cool) & this -

There are no words to convey how awesomely chuffed I am to have my very own felted Dalek tea cosy. In fact I'm so thrilled I'm gonna post another pic -

The DCs love it (they're Dr Who geeks too) altho' Orson the cat is a bit bemused -

And finally a pic of my parcel in all its awsomeness -

Next up there was the Igor Thwap that the Ankh-Morpork Knitters Guild did (we had to type all our posts in Igor thpeak - I spent a long time editing posts to get rid of all those sneaky esses, a thide-effect of which wath that I occathionally thpoke like that in real life too).

Ahem! My partner this time was littlelixie, a lovely lady who, it turns out, has the same penchant for over-the-knee socks that I do. This made it very easy for us to decide at least one of the items to send :0D

Here we have a group shot -

How cool is that? I have a Yarn Junkie badge to go with my blog, wee pawprints for when I finally make myself some socks (more on that to come), a sewing kit that has already come in handy several times, knitty notecards, socks (well-worn by now - it's a good job we don't have smell-o-vision), gorgeous cotton yarn & my favourites -

coolest. bracelet. evah!

and this fantastic handmade (by littlelixie) project bag -

as well as 2 spools of pretty ribbon (both sadly now used up) & some Egyptian sweets which lasted no time at all :0D

There were actually 3 balls of the yarn but I used one to make dd3 a new hat in the hope that we may get a summer this year :0P

Thirdly we had a spinner's swap on the UK Spinners forum. This swap had strict rules - 100g of roving plus another 100g where the sender had already spun 50g & sent the handspun & the remaining 50g for her partners to spin. Janice61 was my partner for this swap -

A group shot of all the goodies - English wool tops dyed by Janice herself in beautiful spring shades, 50g of handspun merino & 50g of the unspun roving, a lush scented candle & lovely personalised gifts too - a trolley token keyring & a coaster for my cuppa.

A close-up of the yarn - is that fabulous or what? I just hope I can do justice to the rest of the roving!

Finally (yep, there's even more) we had an egg cosy swap on the Knit-Crochet Kitchen Exchange board. This was a rolling rather than a straight swap & the person sending to me was the lovely rdodo. Take a look at this -

There were 2 fabulous crocheted easter bunny cosies - rdodo's first crochet work & utterly gorgeous (even tho' she doesn't believe her hooking skillz are up to much) -

2 sweet knitted chickie baskets (complete with galaxy caramel eggs which are sadly no more as dd2 & I scoffed 'em with a cuppa :0D) -

Beautiful blue roving that I'm gonna have great fun spinning -

And a totally cool crochet book with some fabulous projects, curved needles that are gonna make sewing-up so much easier, *loads* of KoolAid & some wee choccies for the littlies who were utterly thrilled to get sweeties in the mail :0D

I loved doing all these swaps & have been absolutely spoiled by each of my partners. I'm so grateful to manoute, littlelixie, janice61 & rdodo & I hope that my victims erm swap partners loved their parcels as much as I loved mine.

Now that I've shown you all this I have to tell you that there won't be any more swap pics for a while . . . .

. . . . 'cos I'm saving myself for the big AMKG Guild Swap :0D It's gonna be huge but it's not 'til the summer so at least I have a wee while to get ready!

FGF February Crochet-Along Free Pattern - HARLEQUIN

2009-01-31T12:16:00.000-08:00

The Fingerless Gloves Fanatics group on Ravelry is having a monthly KAL/CAL featuring new patterns by group members & I was lucky enough to get the February crochet slot. This pattern was created especially for the CAL & will be available free here during the month of February (& possibly for longer).

I hope you have fun making these mitts & that you come back in June when my turn rolls around again :0)

Harlequin Mitts by Shirley MacDonald

Size: Ladies medium

1 50g ball of DK yarn in main colour (MC) - I used Patons Diploma Gold DK in red
1 50g ball DK yarn in contrast colour (CC) - I used Rowan Pure Wool DK in enamel
4mm hook*
4.5mm hook*
1 stitch marker

*Please note - I crochet tight so if you generally crochet quite loosely you may wish to use 3.5mm & 4mm instead.

These mitts use a very simple & easy to memorise 4-row pattern with 2 rows worked in each colour. The colours are not fastened off between rounds but are carried up the inside of the work - be sure to pull your new yarn tight (but not too tight!) at each colour change. Once finished the inside of the glove should look like this -

The stitch count remains the same throughout & shaping is achieved by changing hook sizes.

They begin with a double crochet foundation chain. This gives a nice stretchy foundation row. If preferred you can just start with a normal foundation chain & work a single row of double crochet first but this will be much less stretchy.

Please note that pattern uses US terminology.

Abbreviations:

ch - chain
DC - double crochet
sl st - slip stitch
FPDC - front post double crochet
BPDC - back post double crochet

Techniques:

Double crochet foundation chain -

Make a slip knot & chain 3 (counts as first stitch).
Step 1 - Yarn around hook, insert hook into ch furthest from hook & work 1 DC.
Step 2 - Yarn around hook, insert hook into bottom loop of first double crochet & work 1 DC.
Repeat step 2 until you have worked the required number of stitches.

Front post double crochet (FPDC) - yarn around hook, insert hook from front to back around the stem of the next stitch, yarn around hook & draw loop through, yarn around hook & draw through 2 loops, tarn around hook & draw through remaining 2 loops.

Back post double crochet (BPDC) - yarn around hook, insert hook from back to front around the stem of the next stitch, yarn around hook & draw loop through, yarn around hook & draw through 2 loops, yarn around hook & draw through remaining 2 loops.

First mitt (both mitts alike):

Using 4mm hook, main colour (MC) & double crochet foundation chain method make 36 stitches. Join with a slip stitch around the stem of the first stitch (beginning 3 chain), inserting hook from back to front between first & second stitches.

Rows 1-5 - Chain 3 (counts as first stitch), BPDC around next stitch, [FPDC around next stitch, BPDC around next stitch] to end of round. Join with a slip stitch around the stem of the first stitch, inserting hook from back to front between first & second stitches.

Row 6 - [3 ch, skip next 2 stitches, 1 DC into next stitch, 3 ch, skip 2 stitches, slip stitch into next stitch] 5 times, 3 ch, skip next 2 stitches, 1 DC into next stitch, 3 ch, skip 2 stitches, slip stitch into 1st of 3ch at beginning of round. Drop MC but do not break yarn.

Row 7 - Using contrast colour (CC), 4 ch (counts as 1 DC & 1 ch), 1 DC into first sl st, skip 3ch, sl st into next DC, [skip 3ch , {1DC, 1ch, 1DC, 1ch, DC} into next sl st, skip 3 ch, sl st into next DC] 5 times, 1DC into base of 4ch, ch 1, slip into 3rd ch of beginning 4ch.

Row 8 - Using CC, ch 6 (counts as 1 DC & 3ch), skip {1ch & 1DC}, sl st into next sl st, [3ch, skip 1DC & 1ch, 1 DC into next DC, 3ch, skip 1ch & 1DC, sl st into next sl st] 5 times, 3ch, sl st into the 3rd of beginning 6ch. Drop CC but do not break yarn.

Row 9 - Using MC, ch1, skip 3ch, [{1DC, 1ch, 1DC, 1ch, 1DC} into next sl st, skip 3ch, sl st into next DC] 6 times, working sl st of final repeat into the ch1 at beginning of round.

Row 10 - Using MC, [ch3, skip 1DC & 1ch, 1 DC into next DC, ch3, skip 1ch & 1 DC, sl st into next sl st] 6 times working sl st of final repeat into base of beginning ch3. Drop MC & pick up CC.

Rows 7-10 form the pattern.

Change to 4.5mm hook

Rows 11-14 - repeat rows 7-10

Rows 15 - 16 - repeat rows 7 - 8

Make thumb hole

Row 17 - Using MC, ch1, skip 3ch, [{1DC, 1ch, 1DC, 1ch, 1DC} into next sl st, skip 3ch, sl st into next DC] 2 times, place marker in sl st just worked, ch11, skip next [3ch, sl st, 3ch, 1 DC, 3ch, sl st, 3ch], sl st into next DC, [{1DC, 1ch, 1DC, 1ch, 1DC} into next sl st, skip 3ch, sl st into next DC] 2 times, working sl st of final repeat into the ch1 at beginning of round.

Row 18 - Using MC, [ch3, skip 1DC & 1ch, 1 DC into next DC, ch3, skip 1ch & 1 DC, sl st into next sl st] 2 times, ch3, skip 2ch, 1DC in next ch, ch3, skip 2ch, sl st in next chain, ch3, skip 2ch, 1DC in next ch, ch3, skip 2ch, sl st into next sl st, [ch3, skip 1DC & 1ch, 1 DC into next DC, ch3, skip 1ch & 1 DC, sl st into next sl st] 2 times working sl st of final repeat into base of beginning ch3.

Rows 19 - 22 - repeat rows 7 - 10.

Rows 23 - 25 - repeat rows 7 - 9.

Row 26 - ch3 (counts as first st), work 1 DC in every DC, ch1 & sl st to end. Join with a slip stitch around the stem of the first stitch (beginning 3 chain), inserting hook from back to front between first & second stitches. 36 sts

Row 27 - ch3 (counts as 1st stitch), BPDC around next stitch, [FPDC around next stitch, BPDC around next stitch] to end of round. Join with a slip stitch to top of ch3.

Fasten off & weave in ends.

Thumb

Using MC & 4mm hook, rejoin yarn to marked stitch on row 17.

Row 1 - Skip 3ch, [1DC, 1ch, 1DC, 1ch, 1DC in next sl st, skip 3ch, sl st in next DC] twice.

Row 2 - Working along underside of 11ch [ch3, skip 2 ch, 1DC in next ch, skip 2ch, sl st in next ch] twice. Now working along Row 1 [ch3, skip 1DC & 1ch, 1 DC into next DC, ch3, skip 1ch & 1 DC, sl st into next sl st] twice.

Fasten off yarn & weave in ends.

A bunch of loonies

2009-01-02T09:36:00.000-08:00

So while we're on the subject of charity fund-raising . . .

New Year's Day 2008; my mum, her sister Holda & sister-in law Jodie took part in the annual Loony Dook - they ran into the River Forth to raise money for Rachel House, a children's hospice here in Fife. Despite the fact that it was Baltic (we are in Scotland after all) my mum was the first to sign up to do it again this year.

Fast forward to New Year's Day 2009; sadly mum didn't get the chance to dook again this time for Breakthrough Breast Cancer so to honour her (& because I'd had a wee dram & it seemed like a good idea at the time) I decided to do it for her. It's amazing what seems like a good idea when you've had a drink.

We were lucky with the weather - the forecast had been for temperatures of -2C & sleet & snow; the actual weather was clear blue skies & sunshine. We all gathered at the prom in Kirkcaldy, 21 nervous individuals in our t-shirts & sashes -

Some of us (well okay, me) were having serious second thoughts -

The tide was out so after what felt like a mile trek we turned for a salute to the crowd (there really was a crowd, all in hats & coats - ds went around them all with a collection bucket lol) -

And we're off! -

My feet were numb already -

Yep, my auntie really had to hold me in the water -

I lost my shoe! If you look at the bottom of the pic you'll see bare tootsies - my feet were totally numb & I never even felt it come off -

That last one is me & my Aunt Jodie. My Auntie Holda (mum's sister) is in the background with her dh.

And yes - we're doing it again next year. It'll have to be unofficial tho' as this was the last official one & was done in mum's memory.

Brrrr!

Prizewinners!

2009-01-02T09:26:00.001-08:00

I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone who made a donation on Laura's JustGiving page. In total kind ravellers donated £401 & with just a couple of hours to go before the prize draw ended at midnight on Sunday 21st Dec Laura reached her target of £1000!

The lucky prize-winners were;

1) 100g of Wensleydale roving, hand-dyed in shades of red & orange donated by Babylonglegs - Won by DutchOma

2) A $30 gift certificate for Spindlefrog on etsy donated by helix - Won by ladypole

3) A set of hand-made love-heart stitch markers donated by Wyndwitch - Won by quesselchen

4) 100g braid of blue superwash merino roving from Freyalyn on etsy donated by belaybunny - Won by Spinnerin

5) A custom-carded sparkly batt or 100g of custom-dyed sock yarn donated by vampy - Won by scottishf

6) A $30 gift certificate for Shunklies on etsy donated by Shunklies - Won by Gillydaffodil

7) ‘Flumps’ handspun yarn donated by kraftykoala - Won by AvaAdore

8) 100g of 70%BFL/30%Silk in ‘winter sky’ colourway - dark blue, mid-blue and grey donated by moggle - Won by panperoxide

9) A handmade spindle/project bag from andsewtoknit on etsy donated by andsewtoknit - Won by woolforbrains

10) A braid of hand-dyed spinning fibre donated by Artis-Anne of Mam a Mi on etsy - Won by MandaR & by msmelody

11) A braid of hand-dyed fibre or 2 sets of stitchmarkers donated by goldfishgirl of Wildcraft - won by jhottiescottie

12) Lornas Laces yarn donated by rdodo - Won by Cherubin

13) Lornas Laces limited edition yarn in ‘Irish Jig’ donated by katt94 - Won by maprice

14) A $25 gift certificate for Needle Bling on etsy donated by Beth123B - Won by muirtan

15) 100g of natural coloured bamboo spinning fibre donated by Otiva - Won by mehitabel

16) 100g of white bamboo tops donated by Na-Na - Won by purpleemma

17) A hand-made row counter pin & matching stitch markers in colours of your choice made by me - Won by fourweekids

18) 95g of BFL in Gathering Roses purchased from chrispindle on etsy - Won by knittingpixie

19) 100g of English wool tops KoolAid-dyed by me in colours chosen by the winner - Won by kaedekat

20) 85g of merino rovings donated by shellbean - Won by rainghirl

Sad news

2008-12-02T05:59:00.000-08:00

Happy times - me (left), mum & Laura

As some fellow ravellers might know, my lovely mum Viktoria Hoggan passed away on 17th November after a 7 month battle against cancer. The tumour began in her chest, growing very slowly over a number of years with no symptoms at all. By the time mum was diagnosed in mid-April the cancer had already spread to her lower spine & brain stem, meaning that at best all the doctors could do was slow the progress of the disease. Despite taking all the treatments recommended by her oncologist mum sadly lost her fight.

Mum was the absolute centre of our (very large) family. Any special occasion or family party, mum was right there in the midst of it all. Everyone descended on mum & dad's house at Christmas - me & mine, my brother & sister with their families, my gran, aunties, uncles & even my grown-up cousins & their kids. Some of us would have been there since lunch when it wasn't uncommon for mum to wind up making the full turkey dinner for upwards of 16 people! Mum loved to have people around her, especially the wee ones & absolutely doted on her grandkids (she asked me at my wedding reception when I was gonna make her a granny).

I can't believe she's gone. I knew (we all knew), soon as we heard that the cancer had spread to her brain, that mum wasn't gonna get better but I don't think any of us realised that she would be gone so fast. Mum didn't complain though - not once. There were tears of course but she never asked 'why me?' (although you can be damn sure that the rest of us were & still are asking 'why her?'). She never felt any self-pity & was more concerned at how the rest of us were coping with her illness than she was about herself. She was an inspiration to us all - as was my dad who nursed her at home until the last month of her life. When mum was taken into hospital dad ran himself ragged working, looking after the house & spending every available minute he could with mum, even if he was just sitting quietly watching her sleep.

I miss my mum every day - I can't see how this pain will ever go away. I keep thinking I'm okay, I'm getting along & doing the stuff I have to do then WHAM! it hits me again & I'm in bits. Keeping busy helps, as does planning fund-raising stuff (I'll be joining my sister & 2 of my aunties in flinging ourselves in the River Forth on New Years Day to raise funds for breast cancer research) but you have to rest sometimes & that's when the grief usually bites. Ravelry has been great - I've had lovely messages of support & sympathy from people I've gotten to know & when I can't sleep I can log on & spend a few hours aimlessly surfing the boards. In fact it's thanks to the generosity of some fellow-ravellers that I'm able to help my sister in some fundraising . . .

***HELP A GOOD CAUSE & ENTER A PRIZE DRAW***

My younger sister Laura (the bridesmaid in the photo above) is doing a SOLO SKYDIVE on 7th February 2009 to raise funds for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation. Her target is £1000 & to help her reach this I'm organising a prize draw.

THE PRIZES

A number of wonderful ravellers from the UK Spinners forum have kindly donated prizes of -

1) 100g of Wensleydale roving, hand-dyed in shades of red & orange donated by Babylonglegs -

2) A $30 gift certificate for Spindlefrog on etsy donated by helix

3) A set of hand-made love-heart stitch markers donated by Wyndwitch -

4) 100g braid of blue superwash merino roving from Freyalyn on etsy donated by belaybunny -

5) A custom-carded sparkly batt or 100g of custom-dyed sock yarn donated by vampy

6) A $30 gift certificate for Shunklies on etsy donated by Shunklies

7) 'Flumps' yellow/pink handspun yarn donated by kraftykoala -

8) 100g of 70%BFL/30%Silk in ‘winter sky’ colourway - dark blue, mid-blue and grey donated by moggle -

9) A hand-made spindle/project bag from andsewtoknit on etsy donated by andsewtoknit

10) A braid of hand-dyed Falkland roving donated by Artis-Anne of Mam a Mi on etsy -

11) A braid of hand-dyed fibre or 2 sets of stitch markers donated by goldfishgirl of Wildcraft

12) Lornas Laces yarn donated by rdodo

13) Lornas Laces limited edition yarn in 'Irish Jig' donated by katt94 -

14) A $25 gift certificate for Needle Bling on etsy donated by Beth123B

15) 100g of natural coloured bamboo spinning fibre donated by Otiva

16) 100g of white bamboo top donated by Na-Na

17) 95g of BFL in Gathering Roses purchased from chrispindle on etsy donated by me*

18) A hand-made row counter pin & matching stitch markers donated by me

19) 100g of English wool tops KoolAid-dyed by me in colours chosen by the winner (I hope my dyeing skillz are up to it!)*

*If these are won by a non-spinner I will be more than happy to turn them into an approximately DK/worsted weight yarn on Daphne, my lovely Ashford Traditional wheel.

HOW TO ENTER

This is very easy. Just go to Laura's JustGiving page & make a donation. For every £2 donated your name will be entered once into the prize draw. For each multiple of £2 your name will be entered the appropriate number of times so £4 will get you 2 entries, £6 3 entries & so on. Anyone who donates £10 will receive an extra entry - 6 for the price of 5. Then just PM me on ravelry (if you're a raveller) or add a comment on this post (if you're a non-raveller) to let me know that you have donated & I'll do the rest.

IMPORTANT - DO NOT TICK THE GIFT AID BOX. The charity can not claim Gift Aid on any donations made in the hope of winning a prize so ticking the box means I will be unable to include you in the draw.

This draw is open to everyone, everywhere - I will happily pay international postage on all prizes mailed overseas. For non-UK donors there is an info page here.

The raffle will be open until 21st December & will be drawn on 22nd December by Alison, owner of The Mad Crafter. Prizewinners will be notified by 23rd December & a full list will be posted on this blog. I will wait until after the New Year to mail out prizes as Royal Mail is in uproar just now with the Christmas rush but prizes will be mailed before mid-January :0)

I'd just like to add a huge thank you to all the lovely people who have donated prizes for this & also to all those who have sponsored Laura so far.

I think that's all folks - thanks for reading if you got this far & the best of luck,

S x

Edited 07/12/08

I just want to add a wee bit here.

I am absolutely overwhelmed by the kindness & generosity of fellow ravellers. When I originally decided to do this I posted on UK Spinners to ask if people thought a draw for some braids of hand-dyed fibre would be likely to get any donations for Laura. I had no idea that anyone would donate prizes. I have no words to express my gratitude to all those people who have donated prizes and who have sponsored Laura.

Thank you all,

S x

oops!

2008-11-14T06:54:00.000-08:00

I have a very bad habit of not watching where I'm vacuuming. Jigsaw pieces, crayons & more have all disappeared into our Dyson never to be seen again (mainly because I'm not trawling through all that dust & fluff to retrieve a wee bit of coloured wax).

Well this time it was the turn of one of my spinning accessories, namely my orifice hook (yep, I vacuumed up my orifice hook - sounds painful eh?). It's just a wee length of metal, curved at one end & is supposed to hang from a length of ribbon tied to the mother-of-all. Why it was on the floor I do not know but I suspect Mhara & Rowan have something to do with it. However it happened I caught sight of it out the corner of my eye, just before it disappeared with a horrible rattling noise :0S

I've had a look & can't find it so guess what's on the agenda for hubby this weekend? Don't worry though - I've heard Dysons are easy to take apart.

In the meantime it's given me an excuse (like I need one) to have a fiddle with my beading stuff & I'm now the proud owner of this -

It was great fun to make & I suspect there'll be a few more to come.

Free pattern - Rowan's Wristies

2008-10-22T03:44:00.001-07:00

I've been asked for the pattern for the fingerless gloves I made for the DCs while on holiday - a very gratifying experience :0)

So here's the first, modelled by the astonishingly cute Rowan.

Rowan's Wristies

Size: Toddler - 1-3 years
Yarn: James C Brett Magi-Knit With Wool DK
Hook: 3.5mm
Gauge: 18 sts & 14 rows to 10cm in pattern
Please note that pattern uses US terminology.

Cuff:

Chain 8.
Row 1: 1 half-double crochet (hdc) in 2nd chain from hook, 1 hdc in each chain to end (7 sts).
Row 2: 1ch (does not count as stitch), 1 hdc in back loop only of each st to end (7 sts).
Rows 3-14: Repeat row 2.
Break yarn & either sew or slip-stitch foundation row to last row to form ribbed cuff.

Hand:

You will now work in the round, working stitches around the posts of the hdcs along the edge of the cuff.

Attach yarn at any point on cuff edge.

Row 1: Ch 1 (does not count as stitch). [1 double crochet (dc), 1 extended single crochet* (esc)] around the post of each hdc along cuff edge (28 sts). DO NOT JOIN
Row 2: [1 esc in next dc, 1 dc in next esc] to end (28 sts). DO NOT JOIN.
Row 3: [1 dc in next esc, 1 esc in next dc] to end (28 sts). DO NOT JOIN.
Rows 4 - 5: Repeat rows 2 & 3 once each.
Row 6: Repeat row 2.

Work thumb hole:
row 7: [1 dc in next esc, 1 esc in next dc] 6 times, chain 3, skip next 5 sts, 1 esc in next dc, [1 dc in next esc, 1 esc in next dc] to end. DO NOT TURN.
Row 8: [1 esc in next dc, 1 dc in next esc] 6 times, 1 esc in next ch, 1 dc in next ch, 1 esc in next ch, 1 dc in next esc, [1 esc in next dc, 1 dc in next esc to end (26 sts). DO NOT TURN.
Row 9: Repeat row 3.
Row 10: Repeat row 2.
Slip stitch into next stitch. Fasten off yarn & weave in ends.

Make another :0)

* Extended single crochet - insert hook through next stitch, yarn round hook & draw through stitch (2 loops on hook), yarn round hook & draw through 1 loop (2 loops on hook), yarn round hook & draw through all loops on hook. There's a good video of this here.

This is a really easy & fast glove pattern which can be customised to fit anyone using just about any yarn (I know - I've made lots). To make it wider just increase the number of cuff rows. To make it longer just work extra rows both before & after working the thumb-hole. To make a bigger thumb-hole just skip more stitches (always be sure to chain 2 less than the amount of stitches you've skipped).

This is the basic pattern sized up for a ladies glove & with a celtic knot motif added to the cuff & a picot edge - very simple but very effective -

Thanks to Hilary for use of the photo.

Some hints -

This works well with the jacquard-print yarns that are usually designed for knitting rather than crochet - just make sure you start each glove at the same place in your yarn or the pattern sequence won't match up.

Use fingering-weight yarn for a lacier look or aran/worsted -just be sure to use an appropriate hook for heavier yarns (you wants a nice cosy but not stiff fabric).

Add different edgings for more girlie gloves; picot works well - [ch 1, 1 dc in same stitch, ch 3, 1 dc in first of 3 ch, 1 dc in next stitch] repeat to end.

Finally, have fun & please be sure to let me see pics of your finished gloves - I can be found here & on ravelry; just search for cherryred :0)

Here's the legal bit -

This is a free pattern, for personal use only & was created by & belongs to me, Shirley MacDonald. You may use this pattern to make items for your own use or for gifts. You may not sell this pattern or use this pattern to make items for sale/profit. If you would like to use this or any other of my free patterns to make items for sale for charity, please contact me first. If you do use this pattern please give me design credit, linking to my blog where possible.

Thanks for visiting my blog & happy crafting.

Swap time again

2008-10-21T07:35:00.000-07:00

I just finished another ravelry swap (yeah, I know - surprise :0D). It was a winter warmer swap with a celtic theme. My partner was the lovely Hilary, who lives in Germany.

The parcel arrived in a HUGE box & weighed a ton - at first I thought Iain had been ordering stuff without telling me (this does happen occasionally, although usually it's me ordering stuff without telling him). Mhara & Rowan got very excited as they helped me unwrap it & as usual insisted on sniffing everything as it came out of the box (dunno where they've picked up that habit from ;0P).

There was a beautiful bag -

Inside which was lots of KoolAid (including green, blue & yellow - squeee!) . . .

. . . fabulous handmade stitch markers with real garnet beads . . .

. . . and fun stuff too - temporary tea tattoos & sheepy stickers -

There was fabulous sock yarn -

Tea & caramel waffles (these are the most gorgeous things I've ever put in my mouth) & the piece de resistance - a tea-pot with hand-knit cosy & matching crocheted hot-pad all wrapped up in a lovely scarf -

This is the parcel in all its glory (minus the 2 bars of hazelnut chocolate which sadly didn't last long enough to be photographed) -

My parcel is on its way to Hilary as I type & if she likes it half as much as I love mine I'll consider it a job well done.

Thanks again Hilary - you've been a fab swap partner :0)

Nessie-spotting

2008-10-14T14:02:00.000-07:00

We've been on holiday; for the first time ever Iain & I took all 4 kids away for the week.

To a cottage by Loch Ness.

Well, sort of.

We booked by email, explaining that we have no car so was it feasible to take 4 kids (2 of them toddlers) by public transport. Och aye, comes the reply. So we book a week in a cottage just outside Drumnadrochit. We get there only to discover that said cottage is a mile above Drumnadrochit & there are only 2 taxis. One of them is booked solid & the other is on holiday.

We did attempt to walk up with all our luggage, but it got dark. So Jo, Mhara, Rowan & I waited in the dark halfway up the hill while Iain & Abi struggled up with the case, getting lost & chapping on doors until some kind stranger traipsed out in her car to pick us all up, saving me from the trouble of a nervous breakdown.

This is the roof of our cottage here, just peeking out from the dell (just look for the red arrow)-

And this is Jo phoning a friend - the only place we could be sure to get a signal -

We had a great week wandering the hill -

Throwing rocks in the river (5 minutes after this was taken, Rowan lost his balance & tipped headfirst into the water - his dad managed to grab his feet as they came up & he was left doing a head-stand in the river) -

Looking for Nessie (Mhara & Rowan think this is the real deal) -

Conquering Urquhart Castle -

Waving to boats on the loch -

And generally having fun -

I took 2 WIPs, 4 extra balls of yarn, a hook & extra needles with me & came back with 7 (that's right, seven) FOs - just goes to show what I can do when I don't have the PC to distract me :0D There's a neckwarmer & 2 washcloths for Christmas pressies, 2 pairs of fingerless gloves for Mhara & Rowan (I had these done by Tuesday & they wore them the rest of the week) & 2 things that have to remain secret for now as they're (overdue) swap gifts.

Here's Mhara & Rowan showing off their gloves -

The cottage was gorgeous & we had a lovely time - we just had to make sure that we booked a taxi in the morning if we wanted to go down to the village or else we were looking at an hour & a half to walk home (I know this for a fact as we did it on the Sunday & once was definitely enough for me).

This is just so Kool!

2008-09-13T11:40:00.000-07:00

When I first got back into knitting & crocheting I had zero interest in spinning my own yarn; I now have a spinning wheel, a handmade (by me) drop spindle & a turkish spindle. I also had no interest in dyeing yarn but now . . .

I've been playing with KoolAid.

This stuff is fabulous! All I need is some KoolAid sachets, cling film, medicine syringes (borrowed from the wee ones' Calpol) & the old steam sterliser & I can do stuff like this -

These are all English wool tops which started out a creamy white & I used just 4 flavours to get all these different shades.

The bottom one is called Strawberry Toffos (anybody remember those?) but the rest are all nameless as I have no imagination for stuff like that :0S

I can't wait to see how these spin up!

In a spin

2008-09-13T11:33:00.000-07:00

I've been taking part in the second Spinners Swap on ravelry. I had been really miffed at missing out on the first one (too many commitments at the time to guarantee it the attention it needed) so I was really chuffed when vampy decided to do another so soon.

I've been dyeing, spinning, washing & whacking like mad for the last couple of weeks but I can't post any of the stuff for my partner Claire yet as I still haven't mailed off her package (who would have thought yarn would take so long to dry inside - this miserable weather's getting right up my nostrils). I can however post pics of the parcel I received from Gina aka Norfolkknitter. Take a look at this . . .

There was a gorgeous skein of superwash BFL handspun yarn - if I ever manage to spin like this I'll be over the moon -

BFL/silk in 'Blackberries' -

A wool/kid mohair/silk batt from Wildcraft made with wool from Buffy (I love being able to see who the wool came from - that's brilliant!) -

And a silk hankie (just *look* at the colour of that!), a bag of luscious silk fibre, a wee lavender bag & scrummy lavender & rosemary soaps -

I've been totally spoilt & I'm so, so happy with my goodies - Gina was wondering if she may have gone a little overboard on the silk but I'm not sure that's possible.Mhara & Rowan helped me unwrap the parcel (they insist on squishing every bit of fibre that comes into the house) & now they keep raiding my basket for the bag of silk so they can fondle it :0D

Thank you again Gina - it was a wonderful gift :0)

I'm (almost) published!!!!!

2008-09-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

Back in February/March I took part in a fingerless glove swap on ravelry. I wanted to knit gloves for my partner rather than my usual crochet but couldn't find any patterns that had a little bit of WOW! but were easy enough for a knitting numpty like me to work up.

So I designed my own.

Once they were done I was so chuffed with them that I posted pics in my projects. Which prompted a message from another raveller who said that her friend was putting together a whole book on fingerless gloves & would I be interested in publishing my pattern.

Would I? Hell, yes! And if you take a look at the cover of Off The Cuff you'll see that Signs of Spring are not only in the book but ON THE COVER! Sorry for shouting there but Gordon Bennet - my glove is on the COVER of a book (it's the yellow one on the bottom right in case anyone was wondering). And not only that but the lovely lady got me to design another 2 variations of the pattern too!

So if anyone is interested in fingerless gloves I urge you to check this book out. It's a how to design your own gloves book with a generous helping of ready to make patterns too & they are gorgeous - just head on over to the site & scroll down for pics of some of the gloves. I'm already mentally cataloguing my stash to see which yarns I can use for my favourites.

Ravelympics entry - Disorganiser Tissue Box Cover

2008-08-24T08:59:00.000-07:00

So I've been taking part in the Ravelympics. Lots of people have been creating beautiful shawls, cosy socks & sexy skirts & what did I create?

An imp with a winky.

Yep, I decided at the last minute that what my cute wee imp needed was a set of family jewels. I think it finishes him off rather well. It damn near finished my FIL off too since he couldn't stop laughing - I love old men with a sense of humour.

The Pratchgan 2008 - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!!!!!

2008-08-16T12:35:00.001-07:00

The Pratchgan was handed to Terry in the foyer tent at the Edinburgh International Book Festival today at 1:00pm.

He was rather pleased, as you can see here -

& after he'd stopped laughing he had a good look at all the squares -

He was especially tickled by [skimo](/people/Skimo)'s librarian square - we all know what a soft spot Terry has for orangs - but he loved all the squares & was pointing out different ones & having a snigger -

There were loads of people going past & I could hear people gasp when they saw us (dunno if it was Terry or the Pratchgan that was getting the gasps). dh says loads of folks were taking pics of the Pratchgan from behind Terry.

I had a wee bit of trouble folding the darn thing back up -

but eventually it was back in the bag & able to be handed over -

along with all the letters -

& then Terry was kind enough to sign my copy of Thud! with a personal message - To Shirley with thanks -

before heading off to get miked up for his reading.

Funniest bit was just as they left - there was guy of about 17 or so standing just behind them & he turned to me & said 'he was just, like, *there!*' in a thunderstruck voice.

Terry loved the Pratchgan - he said it must have taken a thousand seamstresses a long time to make. He said it's outrageous & over-the-top & brilliant & he's gonna put it on his bed. Just before he left he said '& I still aten't dead' :0D

The reading was fabulous. Terry talked about Nation & read some of it (he read a bit that required him to sing!) & also about the new Discworld novel that he's working on - Unseen Academicals. Nation isn't a Discworld book so I wasn't going to buy it but I will now 'cos it sounds fab. Someone asked Terry who his fave character is & he says it's Vimes - squeeee!

I got a text from Rob on the way home - I've to email the pics to him so he can put them on www.terrypratchett.com !

I'm so relieved that The Pratchgan is now with its new owner. I have a wee bottle of wine here so I can celebrate properly tonight.

The Pratchgan 2008 - FINISHED AT LAST!!!!!

2008-08-13T01:19:00.000-07:00

I can hardly believe I'm typing this - I was starting to think I'd never get this finished.

It all started last December when a few of us on Ravelry's Ankh-Morpork Knitters Guild were expressing our shock & disbelief at Terry Pratchett's Alzheimer's diagnosis. We wanted to do something to express our love for the Discworld & to let Terry know we we're thinking of him & being a fibre arts community I guess a group afghan was inevitable.

It was originally going to be 10 squares by 10 but with new people discovering the Guild there was always someone new asking to take part & it wound up 10 squares wide & 12 squares long. 97 crocheters & knitters from all around the world sent squares, some simple & some complex, to be sewn with love into the first ever Pratchgan.

Once the initial excitement of the project wore off I had a few sleepless nights, worrying that I'd mess it up or just plain wouldn't be able to do it & I hated to think of the disappointment all these fantastic people would feel if the project failed. Also a problem was the time - between the crafting & the admin (logging squares as they arrived, sending messages, chasing up people who had gone MIA) I reckon I've logged over 200 hours on this wee cracker. It took almost 20 hours to crochet the edging & hand-stitch the backing in place! I finally got to bed last night (this morning?) at 1:30am but I had the best sleep I've had in ages knowing it's finished.

It's all been worth it though. Whether the Pratchgan is handed in person to PTerry in person (please Gods) or sent in the mail, I'm just so happy to have been able to be a part of this fantastic project.

I'll add a couple of pics now but I hope to get better ones soon. I'll also be adding a list of everyone who took part, along with the grid reference of their squares.

The backing was pieced together for me by the lovely Alison of The Mad Crafter -

I've been tagged again!

2008-08-07T01:50:00.001-07:00

Just discovered that I've been tagged for a 5 things meme by AudreyM so here goes -

1. What I was doing 10 years ago:

Whew - in 1998 I was a single mum living in a council flat wondering what had happened to my life :0S

2. What 5 things are on on my to-do list for today (not in any particular order):

* Call Wingham Wool Works (again) to try to book a spinning weekend.
* Clean the bathroom.
* Mail some parcels.
* Finish crocheting a toy for my brand-new nephew.
* Go to knitting group tonight (yay!).

3. Snacks I enjoy:

* houmous on oatcakes
* Pringles (every flavour).
* chocolate-coated banana chips
* peanut butter on toast
* hazelnut chocolate

4. Things I would do if I was a billionaire:

* Buy a wee antique-y shop for my mum & dad.
* Buy a house somewhere in the highlands with loads of grounds & a loch.
* Hire a housekeeper & cook.
* Open up a yarn shop just for fun.
* Buy DH all the camera equipment he wants so he can yake pics of all the wildlife on & around our loch.

5. Places I have lived:

* Lochgelly
* Kelty
* Dunfermline
* Erm . . .
* That's all folks.

I believe I've to tag 5 other people now so am off to find some victims.

I'm baaaa-ack!

2008-08-07T01:32:00.000-07:00

I've been so snowed under lately I haven't had any time for blogging (well, okay I could've been blogging instead of mooching around on ravelry but I. Just. Can't. Tear. Myself. Away.

Loads of swapping going on as usual. I crocheted my first ever pair of socks for the Ankh-Morpork Knitters Guild Music With Socks In swap & got a fabulous pair back. I don't have pics of them yet but here's what I sent my partner -

The socks were rolled up around some bee buttons (my partner's fave character was Granny Weatherwax) & stuffed inside a pair of Nanny Ogg's knickers - I had loads of fun coming up with the bag & it was a really fast knit -

There was also a celtic themed swap. I sent my partner a filet crochet washcloth, sporran notebook & sweets & she sent me this -

How fabulous is that? The necklace was made by my partner & she crocheted a gorgeous wee gift bag for it. The KoolAid is long gone - it's been used to turn a bag of poll dorset fleece from this -

to this -

& I'm very slowly hand carding it into these -

so I can spin them on my wheel.

I didn't mention I'd bought a wheel, did I? Pics & a full post to follow soon ;0)

Pratchgan WIP part 3

2008-05-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well, we're getting there. Slowly.

I've received 111 squares so far but despite being 2 months past the original deadline I still hadn't heard from a few participants & had to call in the subs who have been fantastic.

I now have 7 full & 2 part strips sewn up . . .

. . . and another 28 loose squares . . .

. . . as well as one or two letters for Pterry to read once he's through admiring his new blanket.

I've been tagged again!

2008-05-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged by Heather to post 7 random or just plain weird things about myself. I suspect it may take some time to come up with anything remotely interesting.

The rules:

Link to your tagger and post these rules on your blog.

Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.

Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.

Let them know they are tagged by leaving comments on their blogs.

So, here we go then . . .

I love books. I have 2 book cases in my living room that are buckling under the weight of hundreds of tomes & boxes more in my bedroom.

On a related note - I have been known to take a day off sick from work if I have a brand new Discworld novel that requires my undivided attention.

I can't stand 'reality' TV or any so-called celebs. The only TV I watch is Doctor Who.

When I discover a new craft I get utterly obsessed & spend all my free time doing said craft. I also go & buy loads of stuff for it & when the obsession fades a little I think 'when am I ever going to use all of this?'.

I love Marmite. Absolutely adore the stuff. Unfortunately it doesn't love me back.

I used to have hair long enough to tuck into my jeans. I now have a short back & sides which still sometimes comes as a shock to my husband.

Allegedly I snore.

I'm going to tag . . .

Gingermonkey

Whizzz

lucykatecrafts

Meridian Ariel

Stephieface

Sarah

April

Get your boobs out . . .

2008-04-24T13:15:00.000-07:00

. . . for The Nipple Project.

Yet another fun project I've found while aimlessly browsing the forums on Ravelry - who could resist the opportunity to come up with your own representation of a nipple?

Not me obviously 'cos I sent 2 off last week -

Crocheted wire shell motifs & beach glass form this Selkie's Nipple (a Selkie is a mermaid in Scottish/Celtic folklore) inspired by our recent holiday at the seaside.

This one's titled Mother's Milk & was inspired by the fact I'm still missing breastfeeding Rowan even though we stopped 3 months ago now. It's crocheted in velvety soft pink chenille with little pearl 'milk ducts'.

I've been tagged . . .

2008-04-23T01:07:00.000-07:00

. . . by Chickadee Cards, ages ago & haven't responded 'cos I've been neglecting my MN craft buddies to play around on Ravelry & didn't know anything about it (hangs head in shame). Still, I'm back now so here goes -

4 jobs I have had:

Part-time shop assistant in the Co-op (when I was at school).

Dental nurse (eeeuuurrrrgh!).

Admin assistant in a bank call centre's bankrupt & deceased department (happy, happy stuff - not).

SAHM - by far the best of the bunch :0)

4 favourite films:

Pitch Black
War of the Worlds
Interview with the Vampire
Pirates of the Caribbean (Curse of the Black Pearl)

4 places I've been:

Austria - with my Gran & Grandad when I was a wee girl to visit loads of relatives.
Glencoe - absolutely breathtaking.
Aviemore - on honeymoon in a pine log cabin.
North Berwick - building sandcastles in the snow with the DCs.

4 places I've lived:

Fife
Fife
Fife
& Fife!

4 favourite tv shows:

Doctor Who
The Mighty Boosh
Ummm - that's it!

4 favourite radio programs:

None

4 favourite foods:

Lasagne
Pizza
Salmon
Potato salad

4 places I'd rather be:

Glencoe
North Berwick
Aviemore
Oban

I nominate:

Dang, that's a hard one - I don't know who's already done this!

I'll get back to you.

I'm back - I nominate VintageKittykat :0)

Quilt Giveaway!

2008-03-17T08:34:00.001-07:00

I was perusing the MN Crafters blog (as you do) & with a few clicks of the mouse found myself at the Old Red Barn Co. drooling over the most beautiful quilt which is being given away free! Yep, absolutely free. Just head on over to the Old Red Barn Co. (well worth a look even without the prospect of a freebie) & leave a comment before 7:00pm EDT on March 19th & you'll be entered into the draw.

Go on - you know you want to :0)

Don't be shy!

2008-03-12T03:41:00.000-07:00

Hokay - I know people are visiting 'cos Sitemeter tells me so (Big Brother is watching dontcha know ;0P) but hardly anyone is leaving a comment.

Please don't be shy. Feel free to leave your comments on anything you see on the blog - even if you're only correcting my terrible spelling/grammar or writing XXXX woz 'ere.

More swapsies

2008-03-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

I suspect I'll have to start numbering my swap posts soon - I've signed up for a fingerless glove swap & a pot-holder swap on Ravelry & a vintage swap on the MN Crafters blog. Never mind - swaps are great fun.

I recently took part in the Inaugural MN Crafters swap, an Easter themed swap where I was paired up with the wonderful Suzanne.

Suzanne makes gorgeous things (definitely go check out her blog) & is so fast! Just days after announcing the swap partners I received this in the mail

Aren't they gorgeous? The wee egg is hanging up in my bedroom (I'll move it downstairs for Easter) & I plan to give the card to the DCs so I can pinch it back for my memories book - sneaky eh?

And here's what I sent my victim - I mean swap partner

I had had vague thoughts about making this breakfast set as a yellow Easter chick 'til I discovered that Suzanne's fave colour is pink - cue a rapid rethink & a startlingly pink Easter bunny. The egg cosy bunny was hiding a Creme Egg which, Suzanne informs me, was washed down by a mug of hot chocolate :0D

All photo credits in this post go to Suzanne who is a much better photographer than me. Cheers m'dear!

Pratchgan WIP - part 2

2008-03-09T08:14:00.000-07:00

So I'm getting all these squares in the mail but what am I actually doing with them?

The short answer is not a lot :0! I did have great plans to sew them all up as I got them but events have conspired against me - namely the big Discworld box swap (see previous post). Since the swap is now over I can start sewing squares with a vengeance - yeah, right, I've just signed up for 4(!) more swaps. But don't worry - they're all little swaps.

So here are the picture squares I've received so far, all together & looking fab. The 2 strips at the top are all sewn together & I'm trying to do it so that they more or less match (I don't think any of us actually managed bang on 6x6 inches lol).

We also have over half the squares for the 'I Aten't Dead' logo . . .

. . . as well as a whole pile of letters & cards for Pterry that will be accompanying the Pratchgan on its journey south.

Swapsies

2008-03-08T08:48:00.000-08:00

I love swaps - they give me the incentive I need to actually finish a project & I get lovely things in return.

I've done a few recently but the biggie was the 'I’m just sending this box so my partner can have cardboard for their boots and I was guilted into putting stuff in it' swap from the Ankh-Morpork Knitters Guild on Ravelry (yes we have our own Guild, no it's not like the Seamstresses Guild, okay?). I shouldn't have to point out that Ankh-Morpork is the premier city on Discworld but since there is the slight chance that a non-Terry-Pratchett fan may stumble across this blog I will.

My box arrived on Friday & since I've finally learned to use dh's camera I can show you all the fantastic goodies I got from Sarah all the way over in the US.

You can imagine my excitement when the wee red Royal Mail van drew up outside - I nearly did myself an injury tripping over some of the dc's toys running to answer the door. After a brief struggle with the sticky tape I finally got my first look at my goodies.

It was accompanied by a brilliant letter from my ‘loving cousine Sarah (newe citizen of Ankh-Morpork) which made me lol all the way through & contained -

A swamp dragon from the Sunshine Sanctuary who had to be rehomed after he ate Lady Sybil’s sewing kit. His dinner obviously didn't agree with him & the poor love had a little whoopsie shortly after arrival but on the plus side I now have a new sewing kit which will come in mighty handy for sewing up the Pratchgan.

A skein of Octarine sock yarn which my cousine says she can’t see herself but she’s been told it’s magic (it is too - gorgeous!).

A souvenir t-shirt from UU. It has the UU unofficial mottoe (Eta Beta Pi) - I’ll be wearing it to my parents’ next week to see if my dad gets the joke (he should as he’s as big a Pterry fan as I am). Here's a pic of the back -

A figurine of the Librarian, a genuine AMCW badge no 177 (as sold by Mr Dibbler) & a wooden dried frog pills box complete with pills.

An elephant tea-cosy - despite not having a tea-pot I’ve always wanted a cosy & am off out shortly to buy a pot to fit it. Here it is being modelled by ds's foam football.

A black handkerchief for Dark Morris Dancing (you'll see it in the bottom left corner of the main pic) & 3 (three!) knitting patterns - 1 for Flynn, 1 for DoR & 1 for Nanny’s Knickers bag. There was also a tract from Constable Visit - Die Chelonian Mobil - which contained a crochet pattern for a turtle pocket necklace. I think Om would approve.

A HUGE thank you to Sarah - I love all of my goodies & can't wait 'til the next swap (which is being planned already).

Just in case you're interested - here's what I sent to Sarah.

The horse is Binky, Death's faithful flying steed & is actually a purse - one side of his saddle lifts up so you can stuff things in his back. The wall hanging is a portrait of Death, his grand-daughter Susan & the Death of Rats taken by Otto Chriek, vampire iconographer for the Ankh-Morpork Times - it's worked in tapestry crochet & is actually oblong rather than trapezoidal like the pic makes it look :0D Inside the egg is yarn & notions to make a swamp dragon labelled as CMOT Dibbler's Genyooine Growe-Thine-Own-Dragon Kyt. It's approved by Lady Sybil Ramkin's Sunshine Sanctuary for Sick Dragons. The gloves are fingerless crocheted ones done to mine own pattern in Noro Silver Thaw, the purple thing is an abstract caterpillar cowl knitted in Morpork Mist yarn (Patons Moonglow heh), the bracelet is crocheted silver wire & shell beads, the stitch markers are handmade by the wonderful Whizzz & Ridcully's knitted coin purse was bulging with chocolate coins - it's just a shame he's so tight you can't get them out. The yarn is gorgeous Wensleydale sock yarn dyed by Freyalyn - please go check out her Etsy shop for fab spinning fibres.

Binky was made following the fab crochet horse pattern by Kristen with a little modification to the saddle so it's all in one piece & can act as a flap to close the bag. Please go check out Kristen's blog - she has the cutest free patterns imaginable.

I had great fun with the portrait right from charting it to finishing it off. I think I'm gonna publish it on Ravelry at some point as it should work well in intarsia knitting too but not a good enough knitter to try it yet :0)

Sadly that's all the pics I have but if you take a look at Sarah's blog you'll see loads of much better pics than I've got here. In the meantime I'm off to sew up some more Pratchgan squares. Check back soon as I aim to get more up-to-date Pratchgan WIP pics on this weekend!

The Pratchgan - WIP part 1

2008-01-30T03:35:00.000-08:00

I haven't had a lot to blog recently as all my crafting has been for swaps on Ravelry so I can't blog them until my swap partners get them.

HOWEVER . . . the Pratchgan is starting to come together nicely. I have 17 patterned squares (16 to sew in & 1 in reserve) plus 3 lettered squares for the logo.

My postie is already starting to give me strange looks when he hands over yet another parcel bearing a customs form that states it contains a knitted square - I'm not sure whether to put him out of his misery & tell him what I'm up to or wait until he cracks & asks first.

Anyway, enough waffling - I know you all want to see the pics.

This should look amazing when it's done :0)

The Pratchgan

2008-01-06T11:28:00.000-08:00

It's amazing what seems like a good idea at the time. The Ankh-Morpork Knitters Guild on Ravelry were having a group commiseration after the shock announcement that Terry Pratchett has been diagnosed with a rare form of early-onset alzheimers, someone suggested we make something like an afghan to send him & next thing I know my mouth runs away with me & I decide I'm gonna sew together 110 6" squares!

So now there are 97 other Ravellers all over Roundworld furiously knitting & crocheting squares which will then wing their way to me. Actually, apart from the odd panic attack at the prospect of messing up I'm really looking forward to it. There are quite a few squares finished already & they look fantastic. There are also loads of brilliant ideas floating around & I'm getting the urge to make a mini-afghan just for me.

Here's my effort - the Disorganiser MK IV as owned by Commander Sam Vimes of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch.

And a close-up of the imp;

I'll update as & when progress is made & will be making sure I get plenty pics of the finished 'Pratchgan' before it gets sent to its new home.

***In the meantime you can see some of the fantastic squares people have made on our Flickr group page***

All My Favourite Babies

2007-12-13T04:29:00.000-08:00

This isn't strictly crafting but I thought I'd post pics of a few things I have made ;0)

It's taken over a year as Rowan is now 13 months but I finally have some good pics of all my babies together. At the back is Abi (dd2) on the left & Jo (dd1) on the right. In front is Rowan (ds) on the left & Mhara (dd3) on the right.

And here's a pic of my pair of posers.

!! PRIZE DRAW RESULTS!!

2007-12-06T00:52:00.000-08:00

Firstly a huge thank you to everyone who left a suggestion - 16 of you between here & MN! Since there were so many I've drawn an extra 2 names & there are now 5 prizes altogether.

So without further ado [cue drum roll]

1st prize (& I'm so gonna get accused of a fix for this) - Katy (GingerMonkey)
2nd prize - CountessDracula
3rd prize - nbgdoesnthaveachristmasname
4th prize - DutchOma
5th prize - AnnabelCaramel

So Katy wins the bunny, CountessDracula & nbg both get a lip gloss holder & DutchOma & AnnabelCaramel both get a wee lavender pillow. Mhara did the draw from her pink straw cowboy hat (once we'd managed to wrestle it off of Rowan - pink is definitely not his colour) so any thanks/blame should be directed towards her.

Thanks again to everyone who took part - if the winners can email me their real names & addresses (email link on my profile page) I'll get the prizes in the post.

PRIZE DRAW - Help me name my Etsy shop

2007-12-01T07:50:00.000-08:00

I want to sell all hand-crocheted goodies & would like my shop title to reflect this but I am rubbish at names.
Anyone who leaves a comment on this post or on my Mumsnet thread with a name suggestion before 10pm on Wednesday 5th Dec will go into a hat to win Bella Bunny. She is crocheted in chunky grey yarn & has felt eyes & nose. Her ears, paws & tail are made of lovely fluffy pink yarn.

Two runners up will each receive a lip gloss holder keyring. It comes with a lip crayon & is perfectly sized for a standard lip gloss tube with wand.

Please please please give me your suggestions for a name - funny, quirky or just plain weird I will consider them all.

Christmas Fayre, hmmmm . . .

2007-12-01T07:41:00.000-08:00

Well my first Christmas fayre has been & gone & it was rather a flop :(
There was hardly anyone there - even the home-baking stall had stock left! - & after paying for the table I probably only took about £20. Still I'm glad I did it & at least with all this stock I now have no excuse not to start my Etsy shop.
Which leads me on to . . .

Crocheting my fingers to the bone . . .

2007-11-28T13:37:00.000-08:00

The craft fair (fayre?) is on Saturday & I have spent the last fortnight with a crochet hook in hand. I don't think I've made eye contact with Iain all week & he, Mhara & Rowan are feeling a tad neglected.

Still, Iain's a bit happier tonight since I've given him an excuse to fiddle with his camera. A couple of things still need to be finished off but he's managed to photograph most of it so here goes;-

Hair slides, pony tail bands & barrettes (the ones with felt leaves)

Hair bands

Lip balm holders & lip gloss holders

Bracelets

Lavender pillows

A rabbit softie & 2 blanket buddies

Tree decorations. The robin is v cute but hasn't photographed very well. The one in the egg cup is a gnome btw - it was the only way I could make him stand up.

And finally for GingerMonkey . . .

. . . a cupcake bag ;0)

Just a quickie

2007-11-19T05:15:00.000-08:00

Okay I know I said I was having a week off to get ready for the craft fair & I meant it, honest, but my Auntie sent me some pics of the gifts I made for her 60th birthday so I thought I would share.

The vase was her 'proper' pressie & was knitted in Colinette Prism then felted in the washing machine & embellished with a crochet flower. The roses are wooden ones that I got from a market stall.

!!WARNING - IF YOU ARE OF A SENSITIVE DISPOSITION PLEASE LOOK AWAY NOW!!

I also made a joke pressie of [[ahem]] knitted gents' genitalia for my mum to present to her at the party (all 3 sisters have rather a bawdy sense of humour). Thankfully she left his wee hat on for the pic so it's not quite as rude as it could be. I weighted the bottom by sticking a glass pebble into 2 balloons (pink ones - poor Iain walked in in the middle of the operation & was horrified) & tying the 2 ends together. It actually gives it a realistic feel [[blush]] & makes it stand up on its own. One of my Auntie's friends spent the whole party stroking the darn thing & tried to smuggle it home - she's asked me to knit one for her the same only bigger :-0

(I'm not sure how long this pic'll stay on the blog so snigger while you can)

Taking a short break . . .

2007-11-18T03:44:00.000-08:00

. . . as I've gone & booked a table at a craft fair on 1st December & have practically no stock!!! So I shall be crocheting my fingers to the bone in an attempt not to embarrass myself with a pitiful display.

Will be back in a week or so ;0)

Amelie

2007-11-12T07:23:00.000-08:00

The lovely GingerMonkey, who I know from another site, makes the most beautiful hand-sewn toys. I made the mistake of opening her blog while Mhara was hanging off my shoulder so wasn't too surprised when a little voice in my ear said "Santa bring one of them for me Mummy?". How could I refuse? Amelie the Emu arrived last week with her luggage & immediately took up refuge in a safe-house (aka a box in the bottom of my wardrobe) where she will stay until Christmas. She seems quite happy here & the Scottish winter doesn't seem to have affected her so far but she has developed an addiction for whisky & fudge so we may need to loosen her legwarmers soon.

Photo courtesy of GingerMonkey - thanks GM ;0)

Penny For Your Thoughts.

2007-11-06T02:40:00.000-08:00

This is Penelope, my first attempt at a crocheted doll. She took about 5 days (and a lot of cursing) to make what with all the ripping back while I was trying to work out a pattern. I'm quite pleased with her now tho' & actually had the foresight to write down the pattern as I went along so as long as I can decipher my scribbles she should soon have lots of friends to keep her company.

Preferring to be called Penny - she's only Penelope when she's done something naughty - she's a little over 12" tall with long auburn hair which she wears in bunches. She's dressed for the autumn weather in woolly tights, knee boots & a crocheted dress. She refuses to wear a coat (typical teenager) but has consented to a warm fluffy scarf. Penny carries a messenger bag (not pictured) decorated with a funky paisley-patterned button. She's asked if she can have one of the corsages to take as a pressie to her new owner when she gets one & to avoid a strop I have agreed.

Corsages and Hairbands and Belts, oh my!

2007-11-06T02:04:00.000-08:00

I know the blog's called woolly KNIT bits but I've gotten a bit hooked (I can see you wincing heh heh) on crochet. I bought a huge bag of assorted buckles off ebay for the princely sum of £7.78 (bargain - I paid £2.99 for one at the craft shop the other week!) & have been having fun using up odd balls of yarn crocheting accessories. The blue belt is done in baby bamboo (I love the colour) & the pink is pure cotton. The brown is a tweedy dk yarn that I got from my lovely granny when she was clearing out her stash. There's loads of it so I might try a little toy for Rowan's birthday with it but I'd better get my skates on - he'll be one on Saturday. That can be my MN A&C challenge for this week.

The hairbands are crocheted in Noro Kureyon (blue/brown) & Twilleys Freedom Spirit (green). They can be worn as Alice bands, neckwarmers or earwarmers - handy for me 'cos since getting all my hair cut off I just don't suit hats any more but still need to stop my ears freezing off in our sub-zero Scottish winters. I have orders from my teenage daughters for one each (red for Joanna, blue for Abbie) & Mhara already has one with a crocheted loveheart in a garish pink acrylic marl which she absolutely adores. There's no accounting for the tastes of a two year old.

The corsages are in a mix of yarns (mostly Freedom Spirit) & have all been felted apart from the orange - I'm still not sure whether I prefer them felted or not. I'm hoping to start up a shop on Etsy or similar which is why I've been stockpiling these little bits & pieces - once I've got a few toys & bags to add I'll be ready to go (fingers crossed).

Little Monsters

2007-11-06T01:41:00.000-08:00

We had a halloween party on Wednesday & Mhara was so excited - she spent all day telling anyone who would listen that she was having a fancy dress party. Normally if strangers talk to her she just glowers or hides behind me but these poor people were getting their ears talked off with no provocation. Mhara was dressed as a witch (given that she's smack in the middle of the terrible twos it was an appropriate costume choice) & Rowan looked singularly unimpressed with his bat outfit but everyone else thought he looked gorgeous.

Crotchety Old Bag

2007-10-31T01:49:00.000-07:00

Or rather several crochet-y new bags. I decided to make halloween bags for Mhara & Rowan based on the easiest thing to crochet - circles. I was so chuffed with the resulting pumpkin that I thought I'd see how many different round bags I could make. Two weeks & several bouts of finger-cramp later I had 6 bags - enough for my 4 & my niece & nephew to get one each at their gran's halloween party. At the last minute I discovered my sister's stepson was coming too which is why there are 2 eyeballs - it was the quickest one to make in a rush. The kids all got them yesterday & loved them (probably 'cos they were filled with chocolate mind you). We'll see how long they last . . .

Bonce

Belfry

Oggle

Boggle

Hecatty

Pye

Spud

It's taken 2 days but I've finally managed to upload close-ups of all the bags (darned pc's been playing up). Spud the spider now has a sparkly silver web handle (crocheted on a packed bus on the way to the party heh heh), Oggle & Boggle have retinas on the back (uurrgh!) & the handles are the optic nerves & Hecatty has pink pads on the backs of his paws but hubby dearest forgot to take rear-view pics (you just can't get the staff) so you'll just have to use your imagination lol.

WooHoo - let the Ravelry begin!

2007-10-24T06:17:00.000-07:00

I finally got my Ravelry invite today after 2 months of queue-checking. I am so-o-o-o excited but haven't managed to have a good look yet (darn housework). I have however joined the I Dye for Doctor Who group & have spent a happy few minutes admiring all the Who goodies on there.

Proud Mummy Moment

2007-10-11T13:02:00.000-07:00

I started buying Simply Knitting magazine a while ago (steadfastly ignoring the smirks of the cashiers in the newsagents - don't they know knitting is cool these days?) & have been inspired by a few articles & patterns. One of these was an article on knitting breasts for use in maternity hospitals, ante-natal classes etc to help show women how to express milk. I wound up knitting a breast for the breastfeeding group at our local health centre & took a picture of Rowan taking it for a 'test drive'. The picture was so cute I had to send it in to the magazine - lo & behold I opened the September issue to see my son grinning at me from the letters page.

Two months on I buy the November issue, open it & what do I see but Mhara modelling her Dr Who doll. Okay it shouldn't have come as too much of a surprise since I sent the pictures in myself but I didn't actually expect to have another one printed. I've now come to the conclusion that the postie on that round must have an easy shift 'cos the magazine can't get many letters (especially since I sent mine by email heh heh).

Totally Tubular

2007-09-27T00:51:00.000-07:00

I've been dying to have a go at the Swizzle Vest in the Domiknitrix book but could not get my head around the tubular cast-on instructions in said book. So-o-o-o . . . cue ten minutes with my needles, yarn & knitstricken & hey presto - 45 stitches cast on & all ready to start ribbing :0)

So that's something else to add to my work in progress list, oh well . . .

Blogging virgin

2007-09-26T05:44:00.000-07:00

Oo my first post on my very own blog. I'm sitting here wondering two things;

1) What do I write?

2) Will anyone care enough to read it?

I guess the answers are;

1) Whatever I feel like

2) Probably not but that doesn't matter

I've set this up mainly as a knitting blog since I want to design my own knitted dolls but I've no doubt that it will just become a random waffle. I'm currently at the stage of thinking about what kind of dolls I want to do (especially at around 3am when I just can't seem to drop back off to sleep after R's night feed) but over the last couple of weeks I've actively started going into yarn shops & having a good fondle. Maybe this time next year I'll be ready to actually start getting some designs onto paper . . .

Anyway this first post is just so I can stop my spanking new blog from looking scarily empty so I'm just gonna start with a little 'about me';

My name is Shirley (obviously), I'm 34 (eeek I can't believe I typed that) & I live in the East of Scotland with my hubby & my 4 children, 3 girls & a boy, whose ages range from 14 years to 10 months (big age gap? - maybe a tad). I'm a SAHM who really wants to be a WAHM (as per above) if I can ever stay away from the PC long enough to get anything done (curse you Mumsnet). I have a cat & a yarn stash that is steadily edging its way out of the cupboard & onto the bedroom floor (much to the delight of said cat). My stash currently sits at over 100 balls of yarn (I came home from holiday last week with 10 balls of Patons Moonglow & 7 of Sirdar Splash only to find an ebay parcel containing 5 balls of Sirdar Denim Ultra - a happy homecoming lol). I have definite plans for some of this yarn - a shrug from the Moonglow, fingerless wristwarmers from 2 balls of Noro Kureyon that I take out from time to time just to sigh over - but no idea what to do with the rest which is usually picked up in the bargain bin at the LYS.

I love to knit and crochet (the two are not mutually exclusive, honest) & have just discovered tunisian crochet which is fab! As well as yarn crafts I also fill my spare (ha) time by volunteering on the committees of our toddler group & our local Real Nappy Network - cloth nappies are THE BEST. I'm also hoping to start up a babywearing group soon as the best bit of 'baby stuff' I've ever bought has been my Mei Tai sling.

On the needles/hook at the mo;

Chunky tunisian crochet scarf
Ruffled beaded crochet scarf
Crocheted mai tai baby sling (just to see if it will work)
Knitted caterpillar toy
Baby legwarmers (on DPNs - aaarrrgh!)

Recently completed;

Fluffy scarf for M (dd3)
Cosy earflap hat for R (ds)
Knitted set of [ahem] male genitalia for a 60th birthday 'joke' pressie
Felted vase - the birthday lady's proper pressie
Knitted Dr Who doll (pictured) for M since she's too young for the action figures
Wool cover for R's night-time nappy

Right, enough waffling for now. I'm off to do some work.