Hmmmm.sock colour!

Ok, so it maybe was a mistake buying this colourway but seems to have turned out alright...if you like yellow. Makes a nice change for a bit of lace pattern up back of leg, although does make ankle look rather thick (or should I say thicker than they already are).

and piccy of prettyish pattern...
Last night couldn't settle for the evening...well you know when you want one of those "quick fix" knitting projects. So rumbled in my spun yarn basket and they presto...this presented itself. This was early spinning hence quite thick, but nevertheless usable. So made this hat, and it fitted wooh hoo! done in red/black merino.

Then we have the rest of the bfl spun..very pleased with this as managed to spin about 465metres from it...has spun to sock approximately. Knitted a little swatch so that you can se...haven't plied it... so singles and it is very interesting as you can see a slight twist on the left hand side of each stitch. Will possibly be used for baby cardi (DD has her 20 week scan soon and we find out what sexes she is having with the twins...so all very exciting)

Morning....

Well the start of another week and still raining, of course we all know whats going to happen. Come September when the children go back to school...summer will appear.





But anyway I have spun some of the BFL...quite pleased with this thus far, the first skein I have managed to spin 199metres, single......am at the moment spinning up second skein, so hopefully when done will have enough for a pair of sockies...not bad for £4.00.



Did a couple of knitted cushion covers 6 months back...but forget to post them...done in cashmerino cannot remember which make but very soft none the less.

Serial blog reader...

Honestly whats a girl to do, but have to stand up and be counted and realise that I have an addiction.....knitting I hear you all shout...if only no...my problem is I AM A SERIAL KNITTING BLOG READER....there I've said it. Do I feel better...nope. You see the problem being, I like looking and the more I look, the more I click onto other peoples blogs on the side bars and so it goes on, then there are the patterns to look at, they shops they shop in. I love seeing what people have knitted...what stuff postie brings....if pictures of their homes etc...sometimes people knit things up so quickly I think they must have little elves working away click clacking into the night BUT THEN I REALISE.....duh!!!!! IF I DIDN'T SPEND SOOOO MUCH TIME BEING A NOSE OINTMENT I'D KNIT MORE...SORTED... well tried that and it didn't work. My digit just goes for the mouse and then before I know it am off on a bloggerifish journey again, and piff paff puff two hours have flown by.....I really should learn to knit and blog....aha...sorted. Anyway off for some zzzz's gone midnight....x

Spun alpaca

So my first 100g of alpaca fleece duly arrived a tad dirty with bits of hay etc in it.Started off slightly daunted as to proccess but good old Ashford Book of Spinning came to my rescue. Seemed to loose quite a bit of it after combing I reckon maybe 40/50%, don't know if this is correct. The lady at my Guild said just comb the ends but that just didn't remove enough mucky bits and when I opened it out to spin without combing I just got into a right old pickle. Anyway some photos of proccess.
So first of all my little niche of garden in the shade....birds singing in the tree behind me...alls well thus far.









But preparation preparation is the key, so a lot of elbow work and cleaning up firstly.



The beautiful soft clouds, apparently the lady at the Guild said that you should be able to blow the rolags off your hand and they should float down to the ground. Okeedokkeee.!







Now spin, here is where at times I can get a bit impatient, I know I must try hard to go slow and sure but sometimes I just run for the bus...ops.


Then the spun skein got its first wash, with trepidation in it went then slowly oh so slowly lifted it in and out a couple of times...didn't want it to start felting.
Changed water 3 times then all of a sudden a beautiful creamyness started to appear

In the airing place overnight to dry and then tentatively opened to door to gorgeous creamy white oh so soft fluffiness. 105 metres of baby alpaca.

Happy Day....

I can hardly begin to tell you how cuffed I am. Now lets see I have been spinning for about 6 months and out of those 6 months have been along to 3 Spinning Guild meetings. Anyway today was a workshop day and I toke along the 2nd skein that I had spun and made into a babys blanket with a teddy on it...the 3rd





skein was pink and blue merino. Anyways I had to do a show and tell, well I was a tad embarrassed and managed not to waffle too much, which was hard as can be quite a chatterbox. So afterwards one of the ladies who is a spinning officianado came up to me and asked to look at the blanket and skein. She said that both were extremely good and that some of the ladies she knows after several years spinning hadn't reached thus far. Well did I preeen or what? I had been putting myself down at home and get frustrated as sometimes things were not working out correctly on tension etc. Then she asked me if she could take them both and put them in a craft show exhibition under novice/beginner spinner. Well you could have knocked me over with a feather I thought she was joking but no they have gone and it is being held next Sunday.....so lets wait and see.









So today postie came with....



isn't it just scrumtious to comes from a lovely site that I have just found.


http://www.lazykate.net/catalog/index.php?cPath=48

Also some pretty BFL in blues/greens fibre unfortunately piccy doesn't do it justice. Then we have Lucas...... alpaca fibre, well thats his name and he is a year old, so it is lovely and soft.

Just had a pleasant weekend...on Saturday decided to go to Rye in Hastings. Never been there before had a lovely mooch around and came across a small craft shop with quite a few knitty things but nothing that toke my fancy. The streets of Rye are mostly cobbled, not good on the ol leggies. But the sun was a shining and there was a wedding at the town hall which we stopped and watched. The bride must have been a school teacher as all her class were waiting for her outside (infants at that) all holding their balloons. She was led down the town hall stairs by a town cryer, bought quite a tear to my eye thinking about my 3 daughters weddings.



















Anyway postie came last week and brought me

















a lovely cheeky book, very feminine to knit, there are quite a few on my to do list.

This really pretty lace top which in the book they are calling a nightgown! Chiffon has been attached to the bottom. A cheeky pair of knitted stockings...

Anway, wanna have a peak at my Wip at the moment. Socks.....oh yes socks haven't done any for such a long time with all the baby knitting. The yarn is from http://www.peakwool.co.uk/index.php?id=designer&gclid=CKees5-VvYkCFRQFEAodJ2iPOQ. The colourway is shall we say questionable but different. Differents good (I think).

and of course there had to be the obligatory baby knitting, this time a blanket in quite a nice basket type pattern. Am half way through this at the moment but hey

Hopefully on Saturday I am going to local Guilds for their Spinning and Weaving Day workshop...as yet haven't tried spinning alpaca fibre, so have ordered 100g baby alpaca from http://www.alpaca-spinner.com/ . So hopefully will show you a picture when it comes in all its gorgeous lovely softness. So best be away and get those needles working...speak laters love to all x

Haven't posted for ages....been trying to get Flower Shawl finished...darn thing has been very long winded (should really have gone onto something else rather than trying to do two in a row...but its finished now. The edging I have done differently on this one, the other was knitted up the side, progress was very slow, so on this one just picked up the stitches and made it up.Anyway heres a piccy.






and a picture of both of them.