Yellow Frog Blog

I think it's "Au Revoir" guys........

2006-08-22T15:45:00.000Z

Sorry, sorry, sorry for being a bad blogger and not actually blogging anything :-( I just never seem to have time to blog. I check out several blogs belonging to other folks every day but I can do that in a minute here, minute there, blogging myself takes too much time.....

The good news is I have been offered a place to do a BSc in Chinese Medicine. Ta Da! I am absolutely over the moon. Due to craptastic circs, including death and disaster, I missed out on the Uni place I was offered at 18 so I have had to wait another 23 years for this and, boy, does it feel good! I really think that this subject ( which I would never have chosen at 18) is much more "me" than my choice back then........

It means I will have to get organised. No more festivals selling tie-dye for me, I will need all my waking hours (and probably some sleeping ones!) to fit in college, homework and still having all the stuff to do I do now (which I already don't have time for) like cooking, cleaning, washing, dog walking etc etc. So, the non-essentials go. Felting, dyeing, most sewing and, I'm afraid, blogging. I will still knit - you think I'd give that up?!- and spin if I ever get a moment but all the things I have filled my time with because I could will have to move over.
I will still keep in touch via everyone's blogs but from this one it has to be Au Revoir.................

Just popped out for some wool.....

2006-07-24T16:09:00.000Z

Colinette mill shop. Nothing more to say........

(well, just a bit more :-) this is their bag of bits, 1000g for £20. Lots of lovelies. Gonna knit a shawl)

Happiness is................

2006-07-24T08:57:00.000Z

A small boy.........

and a fish :-)

Bigger boys like it too.....

Bath anyone.............?

2006-07-03T11:42:00.000Z

The scary part is we only have the one set of "facilities" (and they are subsiding apparently but that's another story) so you wanna wee? You brave the sheep shit :-)

Done! Now what?

2006-06-29T09:31:00.000Z

I loved knitting it. The sleeves fit the armholes (always a dodgy moment I find.) It fits. The recipient seems pretty chuffed too...............

WOW!!!!!!!!

2006-06-16T15:35:00.000Z

Look at all that!!!! I must be the luckiest Dye-O-Rama swapper in the Blogiverse, Universe, Cosmos, whatever!!!!!! My swapper was Reb from Shades of Green and I cannot believe what she's sent me :-) There are bones for the dogs, here they are "asking nicely" for them..... There are Gummies for the kids, here they are looking as if Gummies wouldn't melt! (Well two of them are here, the other one missed out, such is group dynamics in a house full of boys...) There is a beautiful book called "The Gift of the Sacred Dog" by Paul Goble, it has the most lovely illustrations and I can't wait to read it! There were what Reb calls "low brow" chocolates, all peanutty and fabulous - we are munching as I speak with Bri saying "cor, you don't get M&M's like this over here, give 'em here!" Then there is another bag, full of "high brow" chocs, fabulous stuff like Paul Newman's "Butter Toffee Crunch"and Seattle Chocolate's "Expresso Truffle Bar" Then there is a selection of teas from a Master Blender. I love tea and as I don't use milk in it I can really appreciate a tasty cuppa!! Then there's The Yarn!!!! Oh, it is wonderful. There is a blue blend in fabulous shades called "Seagasm" . This pic doesn't do it justice, it's bluer and deeper and altogether lovely. This will be socks for me. The other large hank is "Primevil Promise" and is the most divine wool/tencel blend, it shimmers like rain on leaves and is all the shades of trees. Greens, brown all with that shimmer. I don't know it's destiny yet. ( You will get to see the wonder of this when blogger stops arsing about and lets me upload the sodding picture!) Theres also a tidy hank of STR as I said I lusted after it, that will be an amulet bag I think.... Everything came with cards attached that are both beautiful and full of lovely notes and explanations. I have never had anything so lovely sent to me before, I am deeply touched and totally thrilled. Thank you Reb, thank you very, very much :-)

One day..........

2006-06-05T11:13:00.000Z

.......I won't begin a post with "this is just a quickie". One day, not today coz this is just a quickie :-)I am pleased with how the dyeing came out. The thick and thin is really lovely and now it's dry the discrepancy between the deeper and lighter bits is much less. The thin stuff is the same sort of colours in a sock wool and is the other option to go to my Dye-o-Rama swapper. I will post it tomorrow so I'll have to decide today I guess! The black/shiny yarn is the latest hank of handspun. The shiny bit doesn't really take a great pic but is the Rainbow Merino/Tencel combed tops I came back from Winghams with. I have a huge amount to learn about what looks good plied with what but I'm reasonably happy with the result here. I didn't think the merino/tencel would show itself off very well plied to itself. I didn't want to echo a bright colour from the rainbow either so went for black. What do you think? I can't get my head round spinning singles which could've been a way to go I suppose......
This pretty thing is a new sock for my darling. In reality those colours are sooooo pretty. The pattern is lovely too, it's the Parting Ways sock. Can't remember offhand where I bought it but it's lovely to do. Blogger has decided that you will see no more today so that's your lot. I can hear my "new" washing machine arriving and have nearly two weeks worth to do so ta ta!!!

Quick.......

2006-05-26T15:45:00.000Z

Hi! Just a few quick pics...... Thank you those who said "don't be stupid" I now have a lovely new Osteopath. Aaahhh! I am still in pain and constantly tired having spent two weeks doing bugger all, anything is a big deal.
You can dye when you are "pottering" (pottering as instructed by said ostopath.) In fact it is a good pottering exercise! The thin stuff is probably what I will ship to my buddy. I really like it but fair's fair :-) The thicker stuff is some thick'n'thin pure wool I got from Wingham's and have got around to dyeing. Now, some dyed really well and some has washed out quite a lot. Hmmnn. Think it could be a temperature issue. White and brown vinegar are the same pH aren't they? Swapped half way round the skein. Don't think it's that. It's not too bad and will probably knit up OK but the deep colours are soooo pretty it's just a shame. The socks are the ridged pair I started yonks ago. The Sweater is from Interweave, I'm knitting it for a friend. Well it wouldn't fit round my leg so def not for me!!
The skein of wool was the first one I did for Dye-o-Rama and though I like it - and still may send it - I wanted to try another colourway. Finally, why schools insist on having "Fancy Dress Days" willy frigging nilly is beyond me. We've only just had one! The teachers obviously don't have three kids (and a bad back - whinge, moan :-)) Couldn't sit and sew and couldn't disappoint the boy so forked out £30 (gulp) still, cute though............

Dye-o-meme-o-Rama and thanks guys!

2006-05-14T19:12:00.000Z

I just have time to do this if I'm quick before I seize up again!!!
Thank you all so very, very much for your good wishes. I've had a bit of a backslide today but otherwise I'm OK :-)
Now swap buddy ; if you have already done my yarn don't panic :-) I will love it I'm sure, read on and see - I'm not a fussy womanLOL

Specific to this swap:
Your favorite colors?
Blimey - loads, every colour, just not in it's pastel form!

Preferred yarn weight (Fingering, Sport, DK, maybe even Worsted)?
If it's for socks specifically, fingering, otherwise yarn's yarn, y'know?!

Do you prefer solid or multicolored yarn?
The more colour the better!

If your buddy is able to do so, would you like a variegated, self-striping, or self-patterning yarn?
I really don't mind - whatever my bud wants to do!

Would you be interested in a wool blend sock yarn (nylon, tencel, silk, acrylic, alpaca, etc.)?
I will probably knit socks with what I get so as long as it wears OK that's fine.

Imagine the perfect colorway. What would you name it?
Fangorn

What was the biggest appeal to you for joining this dye-along?
An excuse to buy yarn and play with dye!

General yarn/fiber questions:
Have you dyed yarn/fiber before?
Mostly fibre, some yarn.

If so, what’s your favorite dye and method?
For wool, Lanaset dye. Handpainted and then set in the pressure-cooker.

Do you spin?
You betcha!

Have you knit socks before?
Do bears s%*& in the woods?!

Do you use sock yarn for just socks or in other patterns too?
Baby stuff, amulet bags, small stuff.

What are some of your favorite yarns?
Hmmnnnn, for socks? Lorna's Laces, Koigu, just discovered Trekking XXL and I love it!, Socks that Rock, Hagebutte(sp?) loads!

What yarn do you totally covet?
Socks that Rock - a two colourway version like the picture on the website.

Favorite patterns?
I quite like a plain sock and fancy yarn but I loved Cabin Fever's celtic braid sock and can't remember the name of the yarn but it was the one they kit up the pattern in and it was wonderful. Shelridge Farm I think - lovely!

Any pattern you would love to make if money and time were no object?
Kaffe Fassett's Leaf Coat. It's a very old pattern but years ago I cost it at over £300!

Favorite kind of needles (brand, materials, straights or circs, etc)?
Recent convert to wooden DPN's for socks.

If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be?
I'd be Peace Fleece Dk - probably the Olive Roots colourway!

Nothing to do with knitting/yarn/fiber in any way but seemed kinda fun:
Do you have a favorite candy or mail-able snack?
If there's sugar involved....Any! I love chocolate and peanut combos - we don't do enough of them in the UK

What’s your favorite animal?
Dogs and horses. They have been with us as a race for such a very long time and always helped us.

Do you have pets? What are their species/names/ages?
Mole - nearly 4 Staffie/Whippety crossbred bitch
Flossie - aka "Floppy" 2 year old Lab cross bitch
FB and Fidget - ferrets

If you were a color what color would you be?
Sea coloured

Describe your favorite shirt (yours or someone else’s)..
Elderly denim with pearl poppers

What is your most inspiring image, flower, or object in nature?
Tree

Tell me the best quote you’ve ever heard or read
To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing it's best, night and day, to make you everybody else - means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting
E. E. Cummings (or e e cummings as some would have it)

Do you have a wishlist?
No

Oh crap!!!!

2006-05-09T18:50:00.000Z

Blogging will resume when I can get out of bed without crying. Soon hopefully. I really hate having a bad back :-( Mustn't moan (oh, yeah? just listen to me....) it's been OK for years but not today, oh no, not today...........

Slap me now!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-05-04T09:08:00.000Z

I'm sorry. I don't deserve to call myself a blogger. I'll diminish and go into the West or whatever she says in Lord of the Rings.
I went to a mini Pagan Festival. I saw cool stuff. I had my stall set out in all it's multicoloured glory. I didn't take a single photo. I will go and stand in the corner. Now you may think that this is bad but let me assure you worse is to come. There I was, minding the stall and generally being happy and excited to just be there. WHEN INTO MY STALL STROLLED ROBERT PLANT. Just breathe with me now, calm, relax. Robert Plant. In my stall. Now if you don't know who he is ~~you should be whipped~~ go find out, then be impressed. He was heard to say (by me coz I was ~~eavesdropping~~ nearby) that he wished he had someone to buy a t-shirt for. Buy it? I would clothe his family from now till eternity! Gratis!! He then said, and I quote "I love tie-dye" Now this is enough to ensure that my planned retirement from tie-dyeing will NEVER happen. I will tie-dye till I tie-die :-) What would any self respecting blogger do? Not me. I took no pictures. Didn't cross my mind. Nothing did really. Please understand that I was having big trouble actually breathing. Then I started to worry that I would disgrace myself in a very bad way, by clutching his ankles and sobbing when he tried to leave. We were all terribly British and pretended that we had no idea he was ~~a God in human form~~ famous. Let me just say and then I'll mention him no more - he is gorgeous. Hair? Absolutely bloody fabulous. Must stop going on about his hair, well it's not fair really is it? I do find bald men incredibly sexy, sweetie, you know I do............

A quiet night out.....

2006-04-21T16:30:00.000Z

You can tell we don't get out much coz when we do we overdress..............
Does anyone remember the delectable Dawn French's fabulous skit of Shakespeare's Sister? It was an homage, what can I say? Luckily you can't see the nether regions. Well luckily you can't see mine really, Bri's nether regions were just fine! :-) I was wearing a tattered black "fairy" skirt over a net petticoat with holey fishnets and DM's. The saddest thing is that I would happily dress like this even if the invite didn't say "Fancy Dress"!!! What doesn't show is that Bri's quiff was about a foot long - wicked and a great chance for the old slap-head to have hair. Been a long time. Thank God bald men are so sexy, eh darling? :-)
Quick, get back to wool :-) This is a scarf I had to do for an order. Don't get me wrong I'm happy to have orders but I have a festie in 10 days and NO FRIGGIN' STOCK - AAAGHHH!!! So anyway (deep breaths, deep breaths.....) the scarf is in shades of pink, looks odd but very pretty on. Today I've done a pair of pink pixie slippers for a friend's daughter. Added some angelina fibres to the last layer and they look pretty - pics when they are dry. The slouch socks: First one cast off. That is not as good a thing as it sounds because it is too short in the foot. F*^k! This is a stupid pointless mistake as I had my feet with me when I cast the sodding thing off so how come? I blame Brian. Apart from the fact that he doesn't read the blog it really is his fault. As are most things if I think hard enough. Bless. Anyway we were screaming down the motorway last Saturday with me knitting and the kids squashed in the back in that kind of stupor that you pray for as a parent coz they aren't fighting. I managed to get my foot onto the dash board to try on the sock as it was obviously nearing completion. This was not a pretty sight, by the way, and if you happened to be on the same bit of motorway as us I can only apologise. ~~And hope your eyesight returns OK.~~ Apparently though it was also dangerous as the back window was full of pillows and the wing mirror was obscured by my ~~thunder thigh~~ ample presence. I was informed of this in no uncertain terms so I crammed the sock on and off again in the time it takes Brian to yell "I've£^%&'in told you once, don't get in front of the £*&('in wing mirror!!!" (The "once" refers to the fact that he asked me to read the map and then threw a wobbler coz I picked it up to read it - you guessed it, obscuring the wing mirror. Putting the "fun" in dysFUNctional. ) Sooooo I didn't really try the sock on properly and it is a bit short but, hey, worse things happen. I'll frog back and add a few rows but it'll have to wait a while as I'd already cast on the second sock - to keep me occupied and stop me obscuring the mirrors :-)

Plying , dyeing and sighing!

2006-04-09T19:26:00.000Z

Seem to have done a huge amount of plying lately. I must, obviously, have done a double huge amount of spinning in order to ply it all but it's the plying I've noticed. Probably as I'm less happy with it. Today tried plying on my new wheel - wow, wow, double wow! Took a bit of getting used to on the spinning side but plying? A dream. When it came it had a whole full bobbin (on a Louet this is a lot of yarn) spun, I presume by the lady who sold it. Plus a bit on a second bobbin and a bag of roving in a pleasant moorit colour (a muggle(:-)) will ask - a dull, reddish brown. Sheep come this colour.) So today I decided It Was Time. (To try the new wheel.) I was pretty terrified at first as I am used to Ladylike Elizabeth gently hinting that you may like to feed in some yarm "but only if you're ready, I'm happy to wait." as she's a sweet thing and not at all pushy. The new wheel - Lou-Lou (well what the hell else did you expect??!) is a bit of a bint by comparison. Possibly a girl of negotiable affection. The yarn is hauled unceremoniously out of your protesting hands. She takes no prisoners. Sooo after a bit of breath holding and a lot of swearing it's OK. Lou-Lou and I have fought out a truce and a bit of mutual respect.
Back to plying, she's a star, all my plying will be done on her from now on. I've a HUGE hank of yarn to show off once it's set and dried. HUGE Those bobbins, gotta love 'em. All this hanging to dry is the result of this frantic plying I've been banging on about. Impressed? I am! Sevenish skeins of the blue stuff I bought back from Winghams to be my first 'spin and knit a garment' project. The light brown is a crappy beginner's skein that I dyed this morning with Walnut husks. Bri likes the colour so it must be OK. Better than it looks here anyway. It won't photograph but it's golden rich brown. The darker brown is wet, mentioned before. Close up of the blue, of which I am very proud. Can't see here but there are red bits, orange bits, green..... you get the idea, I'm proud. Also dyed some fleece with Logwood chips. This greyish stuff is the result. Was hoping for purplish, bluish. Grey. Weird stuff. The soaking liquid went brown in the pan and it said to add soda ash till it went purple, which it did. (It was ace - like Alchemy, just woosh - purple. Wonderful:-)) Dyed the fleece in purple liquid and got grey. Mordanted with alum if anyone reading this knows more than I do, which wouldn't be at all hard.... It is a very lovely grey actually which I'll use. Finished all the farting around - soak overnight, boil for one hour etc etc then saw "logwood is an extremely fugitive dye" oh big, hairy bum! As an eco-zealot I really want to get to grips with natural dyeing but I've a way to go :-( (In case anyone is concentrating this is the "sighing" in the title. See, I'm trying to tie it all in.....:-))
This oddity is my new sock! I think it looks like a giant clam :-) It's a pattern from "Socks, socks, socks" and is a slouch sock. I never pull up my socks so it'll suit me well but isn't it weird the way it folds up? Hmmn, I can forsee a folded "Giant clam" bag on the horizon!!!

Lucky Billy Boy.

2006-04-07T21:17:00.000Z

This is what happens if you have the luck of the Devil and your big brother hurls a splintered piece of garden cane at you. What happens if the luck is not with you doesn't bear thinking about....................

Calling all Fibreholics - so that's you, right?

2006-04-01T09:00:00.000Z

Just a quick plug for y'all. Go here. Look at the sheep! Look at these spindles (love "The Keep"!) It was Wormhead who originally blogged about Liz' fibres (thanks Ruth:-)) which are gorgeous. I unreservedly endorse Liz as she is a lovely lady. She is extremely helpful and knowledgable and passionate about keeping spinning alive. I've no affiliation other than being a most satisfied customer of her ebay shop. Nice to know that in this age of shopping with a click it still all comes down to nice folk :-)))

Forgive me Brian for I have sinned....big time

2006-03-30T15:06:00.000Z

Ho hum, I really didn't mean to, ask Isabella. She'll tell ya (back me up here, fellow addict! :-)) there was a certain confusion about how the reserve price thing on ebay worked and in order to fully understand it I had to keep bidding and it just sort of happened............. meet my new friend. Lovely eh? Sooooo I have spent the last coupla days in denial. Guilt. Worry. Took my courage in both hands this morning and did that whole "Babble, babble, babble" thing and he looked puzzled, shrugged and said "you bought a loom?" So the reality (which he understood when I stopped hyperventilating) was better wasn't it y'know a loom, well, would've been worse yeah? Don't grin Isabella, I'm not buying a friggin' loom!
As if I hadn't sinned enough, I got caught up in sockiness, ask Colin, we both got really socky for a while there and this was the result. L to R Opal hand-dyed; Regia Canadian Color; Opal Uni and Marathon Tango. They are all lovely. Bought from here. Had a notion to do the Fiesta Feet in the two greens as I like the idea of a not-too-much-of-a-contrast between the two. On the other hand is there enough to make it visible or would all that fairisle sockiness be for nought? Well, I'm off now, as Ruth or even Ruth ( which do I link to now you multi-site hussy?:-) pointed out I might want to go be grateful :-))

For Judy.

2006-03-28T20:28:00.000Z

Double the trouble, double the fun :-) Billy and James. Called them "My two cherubs" tonight (no, only one is mine but a figure of speech.....) and Bill said very indignantly "I'm not a big rocket thing" so Christ knows what his definition of 'cherub' is. Posted this for Judy, James' mum who was dog tired tonight but still running round after four kids. She reads the blog and thought it would be cool to see the boy on here. Sorry to those not obsessed with small, curly boys, the wheel is the only wool content.

Click the pic Jude and you'll get the babes BIG, so big, in fact, you can see all the dust in my house.........

Busy, busy.......

2006-03-28T15:47:00.000Z

I really do like spinning:-) Which is good considering some pending news I have. (Later guys, can't get my own head round it yet.) I have started to spin for my first proper project in handspun. I figured I could put the stuff away and wait to be "worthy" or just get on with it, so I chose the latter. This is by far the most concentrated bout of spinning I've done since I got the wheel and I'm getting my spinning mojo on!! :-) This is not to say I'm not crap - but, hey, that's all part of the curve! I am spinning all my singles first - like Ruth from Winghams told me (see I was listening :-)) so I have the fun of seeing them s-l-o-w-l-y mount up. I am aiming for a thick DK, not too soft but softish (not very techy I realise!) I have a great waistcoat pattern from Cabin Fever called the Kimono Vest that I'm hoping it will look good knitted up in. Or maybe a nice shrug. Trouble with being a "big Girl" and wearing a shrug is you just look like you shrunk your cardi. Or wore the one you bought before you ate all the pies. Hmmnn, will see when it's spun.

Spinning cherub.

2006-03-25T19:01:00.000Z

Take one spinning wheel, add cherub........................
There is another pic which shows the wheel better but he looks like we glued him there and screamed "SMILE" at him, which we didn't. Honest. He likes it. Really. It's just when he sees the camera he does that grimace thing, in common with at least 95% of all 6 yr olds. Oh, and he may look sweet but his party piece is the scene from Little Britain which starts "Dafydd Thomas you bloody fool you could've had a bit of cock there....." oh and he spent all of dinner, for which we were joined by MIL, singing "The internet is for porn" ( feel bad Anna? :-)) Oh and before you tut at my ~~lack of~~ parenting skills try having three boys of disparate ages and then try stopping the ~~accident~~ smallest one having a ~~potty mouth~~ interesting vocabulary :-)))

Bugger Blogger!!

2006-03-24T21:32:00.000Z

Can anyone help me? I have added links lots of times but on the last two occasions the links I've added to the "Blogs I read" list don't show. They are there, run your mouse over the blank area between the lowest link and the buttons and you will see the hand icon and if you click the links they work but you can't see the sodding names. This is bugging me no end as I can't understand why. The links are just the same as all the rest why won't they work?? (grumble, mutter, whinge....) The only thing I can see is that the hand icon appers and disappears as it runs up and down the visible names but stays as a hand for the whole invisible section - does this mean bugger all, dunno :-(

Post-edit; The entirely wonderful W solved the problem. Thank you, you Angel of mercy :-) Who'd of thought one teensy little ">" would cause such a kerfuffle? I looked and looked but couldn't see what I'd missed out. Migraines eh, who needs 'em? Thanks again, my delicate sanity saved for a bit longer!!!!!

Just a quickie (ooh, er missus etc!).......

2006-03-24T17:20:00.000Z

Just a quick update. Got a late invite to a charity coffee morning.. It was held today and I only found out at 3.30 p.m. yesterday so it was a bit hurried to say the least!! Burnt the midnight oil making these......... Cute huh? Now I just need to make lots more in every size imaginable!! Made myself a scarf this week aswell. Got the idea from one I saw at Winghams . It uses a whole hank of their pencil roving. Yum, lovely and warm and thick :-) Anyways the coffee morning went well. Very well considering I've got a migraine and a coupla kids found friggin' recorders to play with. Sweet. It was the first outing for the felt stuff and I got loads of interest and a few orders so I was chuffed. Sold several tie dyes too so all in all a good morning's work :-)

Happy Birthday to me!!!

2006-03-19T08:22:00.000Z

41 today!!! Nothing planned, a day with the family and think the man wants to take me out later. Hmmnn, lovely. :-)

The "Haul"

2006-03-16T13:23:00.000Z

Ta Da!! From the top then, clockwise. It looks grey, in real life it is a beautiful mixture of fawns, blues and greys; it's wool, alpaca, cashmere, linen and silk and feels like heaven. Next two balls of blue/green roving with a hank of sari-silk nestled on top. At the bottom is a wool/tencel mix in a deep rainbow colourway, shimmers like rain, it's divine. Next is part of about 500g of the most fabulous carded wool. The picture no way does this justice it has golds, reds, greens, a touch of pink, lots if colours all in there. This is essentially a one-off as they put stuff into the carder according to what they have and how they feel! Ruth put this in to show us how the machine worked and I liked it so much she finished off the run for me to take home. (Thank you, thank you! :-)) Last but not least, some silk hankies, mmmmnnnn! So there you have it, oh, and "Essentials of Yarn Design for Handspinners" by Mabel Ross and a back copy of Interweave. Not bad, not bad at all :-) These are the bits I show people when they say "So, what did you do there?" and then they go "Mmmmmmnnn....." and get that sort of nervous look in their eyes. Starting at the bottom , anti-clockwise (no-one ever does anti-clockwise :-)) There's a bit of silk, a lot of pretty ropey long draw, some Navaho plying, some rather funky boucle and a bit of fancy wrapped stuff at the bottom left which is the same carded wool as I bought. Nice colours, eh?
So, I am going now and may not be back for some time! Firstly because I'm gonna be spinning. Every day. Lots. Also I feel very lucky and very grateful to my babe for financing the whole adventure so I'm gonna go act grateful. (Y'know, dust, hoover, real golden syrup steamed sponge pudding and custard, sexual favours............. :-))

Wonderful Winghams

2006-03-15T20:34:00.000Z

I'm home! To over excited dogs and children and a magnifiecnt man who has held the fort while I was having the best time ever!!! :-) Best. Ever. Ever. When they are all out tomorrow I will unwrap "the haul" and take a pic. What I have bought is fab but what I have in my head is beyond price - I know how to spin. This is not like saying "I'm good" coz I'm not and need lots of practise but now I'm not a hapless passenger of the spinning fates. If I want DK hardwearing or Aran softer wearing I know what to do to get that. I know what all the "groove thingies" on my wheel are for. How even it is is still in the lap of the Gods but I have begun to believe that I will stop spinning "ornaments" and start spinning so I can knit something with it. I am chuffed to bits. And knackered. Pics later.

Sorry Alice......

2006-03-12T12:52:00.000Z

Here we go again!! Sorry Alice, I know you wanted the next snow ......

Jeez, the kids and the dogs, they really hate snow, you can tell can't you?! :-)

Hold the front page!

2006-03-11T08:27:00.000Z

Ahhh, the postman. My saviour!! :-)

Sam's felted clog kit.

The daylight hours also brought a small child insisting I turn this.......

Into this.............

So order is returned to my life :-)

Is it a bird.................?

2006-03-11T06:57:00.000Z

I am in the final straight ............................ these purty little tiles are going on the wall under the cooker hood. I've done the same thing before but didn't have enough tiles and had a tall cooker so who cared? We cared when one of Brian's customers gave us a new cooker. A new lower cooker. So while we were decorating (while I was decorating and being berrated for the speed with which I was doing it! :-)) the old tiles had to go as I couldn't match them and yesterday I started all over again......... Nearly done, just have to grout.
Not much knitting news I'm afraid. I am pissed off to tell you the truth because I don't really have anything to knit. Shock. Horror. I know, it's crap isn't it? As we have established I don't have much stash and currently have nothing in the way of WIP's so when I finish something - think it was the pink socks - there's no comforting picking up of something else to sooth that transition to the next new project. It's a well known fact that people who have several things on the go acheive far more as they don't fall into the "finish and don't know what to start next" trap. So we knitters have practised for years what big business psychology is only recently coming round to. You need lots of things part done to get you through the energy gap that comes with the "end" of a project. I am going to knit a sweater for a friend, the Annie Modesitt (sp?) cabled design from the December Interweave. The trouble is trying to get her to choose the colours. Could be a while. So I figured while I'm in the knitting doldrums I need plenty of spinning practise. This is some pretty variable fleece I was given and it has some "bobbles" in it that I am reliably informed are a "break in the staple". They're a pain, I know that much. Anyway this is not destined for greatness but it's good practise. :-) There is a very small amount of knitting news. Two Dulaan hats, one big, one small. And this.........
Is it a bird? A plane?? No, it's a th-th-thong!!!!! A friend of ours, Terry, has the slightly novel habit of stripping down to his skids when he's fishing. No private lakes here guys, we're talking on the canal or river bank wherever and whenever. No shorts for our Tel, so I figured this would be better gear for him. It' s pretty sturdy actually, more like a cricket box than a thong! :-) Bri has modelled it for me but was shy of a piccy - think he's realised pics=blog !! Now you're gonna have to be pretty "manly" to fill this baby, you reading this Terry? We want pictures!!! :-)))))

Baa baa white sheep....

2006-03-06T16:15:00.000Z

Yup, three bags full. I figure since I'm sooo busy with other stuff, and since this years fleeces are not too far away I may as well use up some of this stuff. It is a real mixture, some is nice, some is very hairy and some is pretty crap. First lesson for this year; Label the fleeces so you know where the good ones came from. No doubt obvious to many, that one passed me by this time round. This is one bag load on the kitchen table. I keep thinking I should spin it but I have other stuff to spin, samples to try from Wingham Wool Work and some scrummy stuff from Pure Inspiration as well as bits I've already dyed and I am going to Wingham's next week and you think I'm coming home empty handed? Yeah right. So this fleece has to find another purpose. Tah dah!!! This is a coupla hours worth this afternoon - I'll post more when it's much bigger.
The T-shirt is what I really do ;-) The felting is new for this year, the T-shirts are what got me into having a stall. This is an old one of Brian's, a really popular colour, at one point I couldn't pick out my kids (not a problem usually in bright shirts!;-)) because every bugger's kid was wearing one the same!!!! Oh, and coz I feel bad about the lack of knitting content, here's a hat I finished a coupla weeks ago, a Cab i n Fever pattern. Called the Inka Hat. I had lots of bits of Cashmerino Aran left from other hats I did for pressies so I got one or two extra colours and did this. Now I know you can't see a lot of detail on a navy sweater but this is my man modelling his one and only handknitted sweater. Took me 18 years to get round to, I wanted
to make sure he was staying around. He's wearing his felted clogs too but I couln't get him to put his feet up high enough. I did nearly get a shot of him for TutleyMutley, wearing only the clogs - to show her how nice they are. But he'd been out in the snow for an hour with no coat and felt it didn't do him, erm, justice.;-)

Ferrets like snow.

2006-03-04T12:47:00.000Z

No knitting content, sorry. The second pink embossed leaves sock looks unsurprisingly pretty much like the first ( I will not suffer Second Sock Syndrome.... say it with me........ I will not....... ) Just ferrets today. Fidget and F.B. (he's a big lad, work it out!!;-))
Ferrets like everything, actually, not just snow. They have to be the world's most enthusiastic animals. They get hysterical with excitement over just about anything. Especially road-kill. (Yes he has got his nose pushed into the snow, for once this is not some weird thing I have made to appear by my crap photography!!;-))

Digitally unenhanced.

2006-03-03T12:03:00.000Z

I have now found ALL the buttons on Tom's camera - thanks Ruth ;-) - and still the crap photos keep coming!!! Then in the midst of all the crapness, one, and only one, very close up but inexplicably in-focus shot of my "proudest-of" handspun. I know I'm cheating coz I did post it before but you can actually see it this time so it's like new stuff. Really. Just like new stuff. Sorry Alice but the ones of two felt scarves looked like a man trotting past on a camel had taken them. With a shit camera.
The thick and thin bits? I meant that to happen..........

I think, therefore I paint...............

2006-03-02T21:11:00.000Z

This is what my life has become. The kitchen is a b"$£%^d of a room to do coz you can't actually move out of it. Not totally, so I end up spending half my time moving stuff about so I can paint very small bits of it and then shuffling it all along again :-( Never mind, I'm getting there - slowly. Not much knitting/felting getting done thou' and now I have a blog and a fan (Hi Rachel :-) ) I feel like I need to get my arse into gear and knit interesting things, make interesting felt and generally be a more interesting person! LOL
This is a pic of what passes for a "main road" around here. The village where I live lies atop a big hill. All roads going out also go down. What this means is when we have a goodish lot of snow, you have to ask yourself not "can I get out?" but "can I get back in?"!!! A neighbour didn't ask herself sternly enough this morning and ended up leaving the car at the bottom of the bank (local for "hill") and walking back up. All the kids were off so I took two for a walk with the dogs. In a moment of sudden at-one-ness with nature and all who sail in her I grabbed the middle one and said, "I really love you you know and I love being your Mum" I smiled down at him and hugged him and in a split second he replied, "Good, eat that" and smacked me in the mouth with a handful of snow. Bless.

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

2006-02-28T14:27:00.000Z

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.

2006-02-25T15:02:00.000Z

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.

2006-02-23T11:43:00.000Z

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!!

2006-02-22T18:09:00.000Z

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???

2006-02-20T09:28:00.000Z

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.........

2006-02-19T11:46:00.000Z

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