Rip it up!

This is what I've been doing since last week. The triangular shawl is now a stole in the same pattern - the colours were not looking good to my eye and having ripped it back twice, I decided the straight stole looked better. I'm not usually a ripper, but it had to be done.

A couple of discoveries this week - www.paviyarns.co.uk looks like it might be worth a look. This was recommended to me by Jennie who I met randomly in Tesco's by the hot chicken counter. She used to come to Taj shop regularly but then went to India. I had not seen her for over a year and she came to knit group on Thursday before going off to Switzerland. A busy woman!

Also, Eurovision, which is so bad it's good, now features knitting. The Bosnian entry has backing singers dressed as brides who are knitting. Quite why, I'm not sure but, for comedy value, it has to be watched tonight!

I'm looking forward to a Paris trip this week and it's decision time - what knitting to take and what to buy at the Phildar yarn concessions. There are at least four to be visited and my plastic currently has vacant space!

Back soon!

News and a new project

A new project which looks completely random at the moment but will transform itself into a triangular shawl with a diamond pattern.

The picture shows my poor photographic skills and the shabbiness which is unblocked lace. Whay could be more attractive? However, all us lace knitters know that blocking will transform this monstrosity into a wearable garment.

My previous smooshy project is awaiting blocking and will be revealed in all it's glory soon.

In other news, Knit Today magazine is being sold to another publisher, so I wait to see whether it will continue in the same format ( and whether they still want to publish my designs ). I have bought the last two issues of Let's Knit; although I'm not a big fan of some of their designs, there are some good ideas in there and the magazine has a trendier look than some of the others. It mentions a good charity project; you may like to download a free children's hat pattern from

http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/ - donated hats are sent to Africa to be worn by newborns. Night time temperatures can drop dramatically and hats can make the difference between life and death. A good cause!

Film lovers may be interested in The Jane Austen Book Club - it's pretty lightweight but I enjoyed the book and the film. The members only read Jane Austen and one of the main protagonists is a knitter - scores double points with me!

I hope to be back to more regular posting from now on. Work has quietened down and I have a little more time to myself.

Marking time

Not much progess to report as I've been a busy girl one way or another. However a few good things to report; we had the pleasure of Tracey's company at knit group last week. She is looking well and enjoying her new life on the island.

Maggie has asked me to come up with an idea for her beautiful Colinette yarn purchase. There's not a lot of it apparently, so I'm thinking a stole with provisional cast on so the yarn can be used for a centre panel and then the two ends could be contrasting. I'll be perusing my stitch books this week so I can come up with something for Thursday.

I had an impromptu trip to Anfield this weekend to watch Liverpool, my favourite football team.Enjoyable but tiring! Sadly, number 1 son is under the weather at present so he could not go. Quite a stressful time in my family at the moment, so I could soon be knitting more items that don't need much attention. That's how it's been this year!

Just when you thought you'd finished!

Another hat is lurking in the wings. One of my students has been pestering me for a beanie so I have bitten the bullet.Cygnet DK in dark green and a pattern from the book on the right.

For anyone who's interested , this is a good basic book of patterns and many of them are easy enough for first time knitters. There are teach yourself to knit instructions in the front of the book.

I've owned this for some time and refer to it for standard shapes which I can then customise as I like.

I took a trip to John Lewis yesterday and bought a few Noro goodies for future use - exact plans to be decided, but I'm guessing gloves.

We look forward to a guest appearance by Tracey at knitting group this week. She's been allowed off the island for good behaviour!

Hats done!

Four hats done and that's the lot! There is a limit to motherly love and I feel I have reached it.
However, I have also promised a pair of gloves but I can't face them just yet.

So. it's back to my purple shawl I think, although I may check out the stash today and see what's sitting there. I've lost two stones in weight over the last few months and there are patterns which I like but have previously avoided - now may be the time!

Knit group was a lively affair this week. It amazes me that men are still slightly intimidated by a group of women knitting in a pub - however, they will have to get over it as we are an accepted part of the local scene now. Several group members purchase pub food so I would say we make a good financial contribution to the business.

Back to work next week and to sorting out my notes from the course I went on. Happy days!?

Hat factory and a bit of history

This is hat number 2 which I finished yesterday. It's in Rowan aran tweed which I've had for ages. I adapted the hat pattern in the Noro mini knits book which I bought recently - more stitches and slightly different shaping to take account of the different yarn weight and head size.

The miracle is that it fits!

I'm now on a mission to finish the others and a pair of gloves too as the boy is going to be skiing in Australia from the beginning of June.

Some of you will know that I am very interested in researching my family history and today I bought the latest copy of Family History Monthly; primarily this was because it has an article on the Dam Busters of World War 2 and my father served in that squadron. However, there is a very interesting article on the history of frame knitting and the working conditions endured by the knitters. There's a museum in Nottingham which can be investigated at http://www.rfkm.org/ . While I'm churning out my ski hats, I feel fortunate to be working in the comfort of my own home!

Ski hats for big heads and a new book!

Number 2 son has placed an order for several ski hats ( apparently you can never have too many! ).

So I am looking for aran weight wool in my stash. How is it that it cannot be found? There must be some lurking somewhere.I have discovered one ball of burgundy Rowan tweed that I will use and have sacrificed my Noro cashmere mix which was destined for long gloves. I'm sure there is more but I fear it's not very manly. Therefore I've ordered some Yorkshire tweed in blokey colours ( grey, murky green and rust ).

I'm adapting a pattern I already had by casting on more stitches and making the hat longer so it will cover ears;apparently this is vital to avoid frostbite. Son has a large head like his mother so the resulting hat looks massive but fits perfectly - more by luck than judgement. Photos will be posted but hat is being worn at the moment.

The Lerwick Lace Shawl book is the latest offering from Sharon Miller. This is a fascinating read and contains a charted shawl pattern which she has constructed from an old shawl in her possession. The level and quality of work which has gone into this is truly amazing and something I can only aspire to. The book also contains extracts from Shetland social histories and information on sheep shearing techniques.Is there anything this lady doesn't know about Shetland lace knitting? What also interests me is her discussion on the merits of knitting shawl borders inwards or outwards. I'm an outwards girl myself; it's not the traditional way but is a lot less complex to my mind. This technique was pioneered by Elizabeth Zimmerman.

The book can be purchased direct from Sharon's Heirloom Knitting website and, while it's not cheap at £17.95 for 42 pages, the level of scholarship and amount of information make it a very worthwhile purchase. Link to the site is on the left of this page.

Next week I'm off on a course for a couple of days but will be taking knitting with me for spare moments!