do you mind if i knit

Meeting Lucy..............

One of the things I enjoy most about blogging is the interaction with people I meet along the way, friendships that begin with comments on my blog.............. Lucy from attic 24 is someone I've had a lively correspondence with from the beginning........... you get a good sense of her warm personality from her blog............... .......... So when Lucy and her family booked their holiday near to where I live, well........... we had to meet up! Now, I know for a fact that if I had been going to Lucy's house, she would have whipped up some amazing baking............ my packet biscuits were a poor substitute......... These knitted cakes are more representative of what I would liked to have brought to the coffee table.......... edible versions that is............. Next time Lucy and her lovely family visit, I shall be more organised. There's nothing quite like planning ahead is there...............................

Sentimental knitting.

When we had a window seat, in what was our kitchen, I used to sit on it, legs outstretched, and knit away happily, looking out on to the garden from time-to-time. This photograph was taken when the kitchen had been cleared of everything, including the window seat cushion, ready for the builders to wreak havoc. I just wanted one last knitting session, so I grabbed this cushion, and did a bit of symbolic knitting................ when you know something is going to be demolished, sentimentality can take over. In tomorrows post I'll show you what happened to the window seat.............

A knitted Union Jack .

My first Intarsia project........ this knitted Union Jack tank top for Hugo's 30th Birthday present. It is a Jeager pattern, knitted in the Jaeger yarn specified for the pattern, I'm afraid I can't remember the specifics of either yarn or pattern - my apologies. The process of Intarsia involves having a separate bobbin holding each different colour in one row. I think I was juggling twelve or thirteen different bobbins at some points. 'Challenging' springs to mind. Especially when various mistakes on different occasions led to quite a bit of ripping out. Actually, I recall getting out the scissors and just cutting it all back............ Intarsia involves twisting the different coloured threads around each other when changing colour, and if you're ripping work out...... well, it just becomes impossible........... or I haven't learnt the correct nifty technique to make it easier. So this really was a labour of love........ for my husband.......... my knitting group will be able to testify to the anguish involved in kniting this thing. Which brings me to one little teensy weensy fact. In the last year Hugo has worn it precisely once. And here's another teensy weeeeeeeensy fact: I have worn it precisely twice. After all, someone has to wear it................... So now it resides in my wardrobe. Oh, and there's one mistake that I left in. I'd just had enough of ripping out............. you've probably spotted it..........

My Kim Hargreaves knit is finished.

In this this post, I talked about starting a new project. well, now it's finished, and I have been wearing it. These photos were taken before this accident! I was a little worried It would be too long for me, but I love the length. Infact, I love everything about this piece. It is comfortable, warm, and soft, and the colour is versatile. The necklace I'm wearing I didn't make, I bought from VV Rouleaux a couple of years ago. I ended up enjoying the knitting of this, I know I found it complicated at the beginning, but the pattern repeats eventually sunk in. The one great thing about knitting a tank top, is the speed with which it is finished, because of not having to knit sleeves. The element that transformed this from a nice tank top, into a great design, was the cap sleeves that are done last thing. The cap sleeves give the top a bit of flare. I knitted it in the recommended yarn, (that came with the kit), 'Kid Classic', shade 852. This is lovely yarn to knit with, very soft, I'd knit with it again. The pattern is 'Victoria', by Kim Hargreaves. It is a kit from the 'Touching Elegance Collection'. This was a gift from my sister and her husband, and what a lovely thing to give to a knitter............ the perfect gift.

Hot topics.............

My Dad likes to say, "pink and Green should never be seen!" But as I'm not one to follow 'imaginary' rules, created to tease me....... I ignore that saying completely. Or I say, "pink and green should always be seen", no, here's one I just made up which might be better....."pink and green are fit for a Queen". I love the combination of pink and green, but that's not my 'subject for today'. No, what it is, is that........... ...............I haven't quite finished the tank top I'm knitting, I have to sew up the sides, and knit and set in the cap sleeves, then it's done. I was having a conversation with my friend Lou the other day. We were discussing the subject of how we feel when we come to the end of a knitting project. We both get a feeling of bereavement when we finish something that has taken a while to knit, life seems a little flat and empty............... what to do next? I've come up with a solution to the problem that works well for me. Always have your next project ready to go, immediately you've finished your last one. Or.......... start the next project just before you finish your current knitting! Which is what I have done here! Life then becomes one long continuous knitting project............ No more sadness, no feeling of loss, no wandering around feeling unfulfilled............... ............ Just a sense of security............. ..........like a lovely knitted........... security blanket..............

Cat's Paw scarf.

Hugo and I went to Orkney for two weeks last year. We rented a cottage, which turned out brilliantly. We fell in love with the wild and dramatic landscape, and fantasised about having a tiny cottage to visit, all our own. There are many islands you can visit, all with their own merits. North Ronaldsay was one we visited, it was an adventure that started with a ride in a six-seater airplane. Wild sheep live on the island, surviving on seaweed! They do get sheared, and their fleece is spun into yarn................. ............. of which I bought some. The shop in Kirkwall I bought this from, was selling patterns to go with the yarn, so I decided that while we were in Orkney, it would be charming to knit a scarf with locally produced wool............... this Elizabeth Lovick pattern was just the ticket,(a free download for you there). It comes from Elizabeth Lovick's 'Northern Lace' website. I knitted this 'Cat's Paw' scarf pattern, by Elizabeth Lovick, throughout our two week stay. It was my first attempt at knitting lace, and I enjoyed it enormously. A few people from my weekly knitting circle, have knitted this very successfully using Alpaca yarn. It's one of those patterns that a photograph never does justice to, but it looks fabulous on the wearer. It looks particularly fabulous on Ellie and Douglas.

Knitted gifts.

Have you been one of the couple or more million people affected by the terrible bug that has been going around? I have been one of those millions............ Four days lost to a bug........ so frustrating, especially after feeling exhausted by Christmas. The last guests go, and the same day, I'm struck down by illness, life is unfair sometimes. So now I'm back to the land of the living, and I'm all disoriented. Maybe the best plan of action is to tie up loose ends, so that is why I'm showing you this picture. It is one of the knitted gifts I gave for Christmas, which of course, can now be revealed! A little cardigan for my Nephew, George. I used a Sirdar pattern and Sirdar yarn, I can't remember the specifics, I'm sorry. Then a pair of slippers I knitted for my Mum......... The same for my Dad. These are to take on their travels. They had asked for them, because when they come to stay with us, I always provide a pair of knitted slippers for them to wear. Infact, that's pretty much the first thing they do when they arrive........... put on the knitted slippers! So when they're in some far-off country, and they need a bit of 'homeliness', all they need to do is pop their knitted slippers on. The pattern was an old cutting from a magazine, and the yarn was Sirdar 'Click - chunky with wool'. I've written out the pattern for you here. These are my treasured Charity shop slippers. Knitted by some unknown lady in the Scottish Borders, and worn till the soles no longer exist. I like the pompoms on them. I would have put some on the slippers I knitted for my Mum, but if they are to be taken travelling, the weight issue was a dilemma, everything adds up, so I decided not to put pompoms on her slippers. These slippers are also from the time I had not yet started to knit. I remember thinking that I would like to knit some for myself, but because I did not know how to knit, I was powerless to do so. I suppose I have empowered myself ................... because I can now knit slippers!

Merry Christmas!

I didn't knit this little chap, I bought him a few years ago from a lady who just loves to knit. She had a table at a Christmas Fair, and it was the first stall I visited. I love those tables laden with hand knitted items for sale. I don't see them much, so there's great excitement when these things make an appearance. I bring him out each year along with the rest of the decorations, and prop him up somewhere. I love the fact that he is knitted............ a knitted Father Christmas! This I bought in a charity shop, for some ridiculously low sum of money. Charity shops are great for these sort of hand knits. Knitted with the cheapest acrylic yarn, and by someone who is a compulsive knitter............. I always imagine she has to give her output away because she produces enough to fill the needs of a small nation. I rather like my knitted Father Christmas sitting snuggly in the knitted Christmas stocking. So............. Christmas day is drawing ever nearer ...............infact, it's hours away! So happy Christmas to you all, I hope you have a lovely day, and I look forward to 'seeing' you when the excitement is all over! Take care........... MERRY CHRISTMAS!

The yarn bouquet........ and yarn vases.

It all started with a yarn bouquet................. A bouquet of yarn, rather than a bouquet of flowers. It was my Birthday, and the day before, I had picked all these flowers from the garden. Hugo always buys me flowers on my Birthday, but this time I already had vases full of blooms. So I came up with an idea for an alternative bouquet............... I had seen this Twilleys Freedom Spirit yarn in my local wool shop, and it occured to me that the colours were similar to those of the flowers from the garden. All I had to do was persuade Hugo of the merits of my idea.......... ..............luckily, I was successful! The pattern is no.9053, from Twilleys. The yarn is 'freedom spirit', by Twilleys of Stamford, in shade 508. The knitting of this cardigan seemed to take forever because I kept on interrupting it with other projects. But now it's finally finished. I love the colours in this piece, and it's so warm. It looks complicated to knit, but the pattern repeat isn't too difficult to remember once it's sunk in. I made the collar shorter than the pattern specified. And rather than placing a button as instructed, I used the flower corsage, fastening it higher up. I quite like the way the corsage relates to the story of the yarn bouquet......... This story also led to me playing around with creating my little 'yarn vases'............. another use for yarn, if a little short-lived. Instructions: Get a ball of yarn and stick some flowers in it. (Note: life-span of flowers may be short if they are deprived of water............... unlike many knitters, flowers cannot survive on yarn alone.......).

The Beginning.

While I'm waiting for the Noro yarn to arrive, so I can finish my stocking stitch scarf, I thought I'd open a box. Kim Hargreaves used to work for Rowan, but is now working independently, creating wonderful kits for knitters. Last Christmas I received a generous two kits from my sister and her husband, and I'm now getting round to making a start on 'Victoria', from the 'Touching Elegance' collection. Apart from an initial mis-reading of the pattern, the start has been good. There are what appear to be some fiendishly complicated pattern repeats, which I enjoy when things are going well. No doubt, when I get used to the rythmn, and the repeats have lodged themselves in my subconscious, it won't seem so appallingly complicated. The thrill of conquering the difficult may well wear off after a while. Keeping to the theme of knitting, the winter Knitty is up! I'm sure you know 'Knitty', the on-line knitting magazine, but if you don't, it is well worth a visit. I'm always astonished at the amazing quality of designs, they are all free to print out, and I always get a guilty feeling that I'm not showing my appreciation, by paying for a pattern when I print it out. It really is a perfect illustration of the generosity of knitters.................