Wednesday, August 31, 2005

Back home and Sock Yarns

Well, we came home yesterday afternoon after a rapid recovery. No tests done, and so far no explanation for these vomiting episodes. Hope to be seeing the consultant soon for a longer consultation.
To change the subject; the postman knocked the door this morning with these from Get Knitted

I've never used Lorna's Laces before but am keen to try. Mind you, I don't need more sock yarn as I have all this to knit up ............


.........and no doubt more in the Stash. I do like to have a sock on the needles so we should all have toasty toes this winter!

Monday, August 29, 2005

Hospital again

Steven was admitted to hospital again yesterday evening due to severe vomiting. A little better today but still not able to tolerate his normal feeds. Tomorrow they are going to inject barium through his gastrostomy tube to see if there is a blockage in his digestive system. All rather worrying.
Took the Beginners Triangle in with me but have knitted and undone it three times so far, very difficult to concentrate. One bit of good news, I can access the internet from the bedside television so can keep up to date with everyone and have something else to think about.

Saturday, August 27, 2005

Progress

I haven't had much time to blog in the past week nor have I made much progress with projects. The Beginners Triangle is growing, slowly ............





...........and the Booga Bag is complete with handles. I'm pleased with this, my first attempt at felting. Unfortunately, I under estimated the amount of yarn required for a tote bag and it's ended up handbag size, a bit too small for carrying projects around in. I shall know to buy extra yarn next time.



I've also started another top for Steven, I haven't decided yet whether it will be a jacket or a sweater, but as I've started with the sleeve, I can make the decision later. Despite the cable, it's a pretty mindless television knit. The pattern is 'Jack' from Rowan Junior but I'm using Sirdar Denim Tweed. Although Steven is nearly 19, he is still small enough to fit into children's sizes which saves a bit on yarn and it is far cheaper to knit for him than for myself!


This afternoon we joined Rose and the others at Beatties' Knit-Chat club. Steven's school nurse Lisa was passing by with her new baby James, and kindly took our photo. I think Steven was feeling the heat in his knitted sweater!

Monday, August 22, 2005

New WIP

Now I've completed a couple of WIPs, I felt entitled to start something new. This is A 'Beginner's Triangle' from 'A Gathering of Lace'. I'm using Hand-dyed Laceweight Merino from Fiona at Yarnwise . This is progress so far .........


I must say I've been finding following the charted pattern more difficult than I expected. The first few rows were redone several times. I think this is because I'm not used to working from a chart and found counting the tiny squares rather trying. However, it's getting easier now and I'm not needing the pattern very often. I don't knit lace very often these days as I find it needs too much concentration, however it's worth it occasionally.



I've found this stitch counter useful for keeping track of the rows............

We had lunch out at my cousin's yesterday and spent a pleasant time sitting in her garden. The flowers in the border were looking particularly brilliant and the sunshine was very welcome. Steven was chilling indoors as I couldn't get him down the step.

Friday, August 19, 2005

Butterflies and Booga Bag

First, the butterflies in the garden. Not as plentiful this year as they usually are, the Buddleia seems to be attracting only Cabbage whites. I did manage to snap this Gatekeeper on the Marjoram.

On the knitting front, I've finished knitting the Booga Bag. Now for the frightening bit, felting.

This is before felting ---



and this is after, stretching on a box. Wiil probably take a few days to dry. I used up every last scrap of yarn so will have to have a think about handles. Maybe matching cord?

Also completed is yet another Baby Surprise Jacket. I used Sirdar Sunseeker Cloud 9 which was a charity shop find. I'm not quite sure that it works for a baby jacket, but it is very soft and I love the colour.

Monday, August 15, 2005

WIP no longer!

At last I've completed the dreaded school jumper, and not without problems despite such a simple pattern. I joined the shoulders with a three needle cast off, fine. Then I thought I might try the same to join the sleeves. As this involved picking up stitches round the armhole, making sure I had the same number as the top of the sleeve, undoing several times, dropping stitches etc. it took about three times as long as if I had sewn the sleeves in after all! However it does make a neat join.
I then found the neck border was too small to fit over Steven's head(and he has a very small head) so that had to be reworked. Well here is the result which is going into the back of the drawer to await next term. BTW royal blue is not an easy colour to photograph.




I then felt I was entitled to start a new project a Booga Bag in Adriafil Baba. This is progress so far. It will be my first attempt at felting.

I've also been busy this weekend creating another Blog purely for my family history research. Anyone interested should go to FamilyGen This is because I have had several contacts from distant cousins on both my father and mother's sides so this seems like a convenient way to keep every one informed of my research. Also, I'm not boring them with knitting in which they probably have little interest.

Thursday, August 11, 2005

New Camera


Sorry Steph, I didn't take your advice; there was no way I could make my old camera take the close-ups I wanted and editing would not increase the number of pixels so I have invested in a new camera. This means I can take pictures like this of my Japanese Anemones. The camera still needs a bit of practice and I haven't worked out all the bells and whistles yet.

Time for knitting has been somewhat limited, although it was good to join the Beatties' group on Tuesday and see so many there.

I've been sorting through my stash and this is a
small sample. The Adriafil baba is hopefully going to be a felted bag ( I have three balls) and the sock wool, socks. I love using natural fibres but am not so proud that I won't use synthetics especially for childrens clothes and if I particularly like the colours. The ball on the left bottom row is a case in point. I saw this in Beatties sale and loved the colours. No ball bands but the bag said 'mixed fibres'. No doubt if I had access to more choice, the amount of natural fibres would increase.

Monday, August 08, 2005

Denise Interchangeable



I was having a problem with a scarf I'm knitting in Kidsilk Haze . I've been using some metal needles in old size 7 which were far too heavy for the yarn. Then I remembered my Denise interchangeable needles , much lighter, being plastic, and much more suited to the yarn.






The scarf is progressing much more quickly now.


I'm noticing that the quality of my photos is very poor compared to other people's. It's frightening how quickly a camera becomes outdated, what was mid- range a couple of years ago is not even a beginners camera now. Looks as if I will be spending a bit to get a new one

Monday, August 01, 2005

Tagged and Flowerpot Man

I've been tagged by Steph. Here are my five idiosynchrasies.
1. Never looking at the new moon through glass-bad luck.
2. Cannot function first thing in the morning without a cup of coffee.
3. Always take my tablets in the same order otherwise they won't work properly.
4. It doesn't matter how many important jobs I have to do, the computer and knitting always take priority over housework.
5. Try to get all 'work' finished by 7.30 in the evening, then I'm 'off duty'. Harks back to my working days in a residential nursery.



Steven spent the day at his summer play scheme and came back with a Flowerpot man which he had apparently painted himself. Judging by the paint on his hands, he probably had!