I wanna play - NOW!!!!!!!!

This is what I am supposed to be doing. I don't mind decorating it's just that this is dragging on a bit and there's new fibre to spin and lots of new wool tops to make felt stuff for my stall. We do a few festivals in the summer and at this time I am always behind schedule making stuff to take. I know that the quicker I do this the quicker I can do the other stuff but.........I'm not that grown up. ;-) I did play hookey long enough to finish off the Booga Bag. Just typo'd 'Booba' ....now that gives me an idea LOL My MIL gave me three of these cool buttons. Like little coolie hats in wood. I also finished the first Embossed Leaves sock. Try as I may I cannot get the bloody camera to focus so you can see the pattern which is a shame as it's pretty. If anyone is thinking of making these and is a little, er, generous of leg i.e. a fat lass like myself then I wouldn't advise the cast on in the pattern. I used it for a really crap reason - I had never done this particular cast on before. Now how dumbass is that?? Use a cast on that threatens your lower limb with
gangrene just coz it's a friggin' novelty. Like I said, dumbass!!! True, it really looks great with the ribbed cast on and all, but tighter than, well, a very tight thing. And then some. Ow. Thankfully I belong to the "Wearing socks pulled up is uncool" school of thought so it could be worse. However, if ya like 'em pulled high and proud and you're a chubby chick - do a stretchier cast on! ;-) Got a coupla pics of the man's birthday socks. The way I feel today he'll be wearing them rectally, but hopefully, by his birthday things will be better. Or I will have found another man with size 12 feet to give them to. Now, the reason for the slightly odd pics is that both pairs of socks have a leg that looks much better stretched out or you can't see the pattern. Ask him to put them on so I can take a pic? I'd have to speak. Nuff said. These are Cabin Fever's Celtic Braid Socks, great to knit, I love their patterns. In the leg? Sweet and Sour dipping sauce. ;-) The stripey socks are Limbo Mexico (I think) from Web of Wool. Bri loves these socks beyond all measure and wants to be able to open his sock drawer and see only hand made socks. Hmmnnn. In the leg? Home made Elderberry Wine. Oh, and one last thing, I finished these little bootees. Cover has fallen off the mag but it was one of the Christmassy time ones, I can find out if needs be. I love them and want to try the technique to make myself a sweater with a pointy edge in loads of colours. Better go and do some more knitting. PAINTING, I mean painting, I really do wanna play now!!!!;-))))

Two Contrary Bags.

Sorry, should've given some sort of warning before posting this I guess!!! Isn't there a button you can press for offensive blog content?! ;-) I tried to get my pic on my profile and went all round the damn houses for ages before finding the easy way - stick it on the blog and then use it's URL, well I haven't done it yet so perhaps I shouldn't say "easy"!! There was one that wasn't blurred but Brian wishes I was blurred all the time so chose this one!
The Booga Bag is felted and drying. This first one is a "before" pic. And look I have learned to do the linky thing, yeah, yeah, bloody simple, I know that *now*!! ;-) I would love to hear from anyone who felts in the washing machine. My machine is old, tired and on a go-slow (we are twin sisters in another life!!!) so perhaps isn't up to it but I *cannot* felt stuff in it. I saved loads of jeans/towels etc to shove in with the bag and it had three washes - one last, desperate boil wash included and did it felt did it f%$^. I did what I've resorted to in the past and felted it by hand. Now, if that was a precious handknit accidentally popped into the wash at 30 deg. it would be three inches accross and stiff as a board so I don't get it,eh? I think it could probably stand a wee bit more felting but I am supposed to be painting the kitchen, which has taken on Forth Bridge proportions so it'll have to do for now. I can always give it another go at a later date.
I'm off to throw another coat of yellow on the kitchen walls - same as in the background above - and then a much needed curry!! ;-)

My Balls are Odd. My Socks are Fuzzy.

I posted about my odd sized balls on UKHK the other day and here they are! They amuse me, well, too much really as no grown woman should really be *that * amused by balls of wool being of different sizes, but, hey, I don't get out much. I'm knitting the big ones into a Booga Bag (if I was clever, like Wormhead, you'd have a coloured linky thing here. But I'm not so tough titty ;-)) and the small ones are going to be a bag that is currently only a bad sketch!



This is how the "big ball" Kureyon is knitting up. I love the colours and the way they blend but am less impressed by the sneaky knots that give you a sudden instant change. Dunno how I'd feel if I wasn't going to be felting this. Mind you I think that knitting with my own handspun has made fibre that changes from thick to hairlike thinness in two inches and breaks in your hands from being undertwisted, an unremarkable experience!
This is a badly focused pic of a Lorna's Laces sock in the "Embossed Leaves" pattern from the December Interweave Knits mag. I haven't used the yarn before and it's fine. As in nice, not as in thin. I am never *quite* sure about the striping you get with this sort of yarn, hence I went for the pattern, which is breaking it up a bit. Had I not chucked out the book for the camera I may have learnt to focus and you could actually see the leaves!:-(

Finally....piccies!!

This is a pic of a couple of felt scarves I've made recently. Brian's lovely cuzzin has been to stay and her digi- camera takes much better quality pics than my Tom's so I forced her to artfully arrange scarves and then photograph them! (She also painted the kitchen ceiling so all in all she's a model houseguest!!!) These are merino and sooooo soft on your skin, lovely! A bit like that advert where a huge pair of arms cuddle you - but less creepy and without soup. So not like it at all.

These are felted slippers, very thick and warm. Just waiting for extra soles in either felt or suede. They are sitting on a baby blanket which I haven't felted overly much so it's very soft and light. It's a denim-y blue and those "blobs" are apples!

This one is a bit over flashed but my (extremely)limited knowledge of digi cameras means this is as good as it gets for now! This is my VERY FIRST attempt at knitting my own handspun and a skein of hand dyed merino that I spun the other day. Instead of (any form whatsoever of) housework. It is teal, purply navy, green, gold and orangey gold. Love it and can't wait to knit it up.

He said what now???

We were driving to pick up the eldest last night ( a mere 60 odd mile round trip, thanks Mum, thanks Dad, oh yeah!) when we passed a shop that I believe has started to sell wool. Now I live in a wool wasteland, no internet, no wool, so this is exciting to me even if it is 20 miles away.
I say to Brian - my man - "Shame it's not opening hours, I would like to go and see what they've got" Instantly the reply "You've got enough wool, why would you want more?"
Now obviously this is a stock reply from a bloke ( no offence to you knitting blokes, present company is obviously excepted!) but what makes me laugh is that my stash is virtually non-existant! It is a sad, small, shy thing that - to be honest - embarrasses me when among other knitters. I could get my whole stash into, say,(oh, God why am I saying this, nobody will ever take me seriously with such a stash!!) a biggish carrier bag. There, I've said it. So sue me.
Enough wool? Poor bugger little does he know........................

Watch this space.........

Not owning a digital camera and having no idea what I am doing didn't seem good enough reason not to have a blog. So here's my new blog. Watch this space.............


Excuse any buttons popping up - I'm learning to add them and stashed the here.....out of the way