My Knit-Friends!

Tuesday Night, Monica kindly hosted a knit meeting at her house. Well, more of a party really with lots of delicious food. Including the best pineapple and coconut cake any of us have ever tasted!! Lots of gossip, witha little bit of knitting for good measure. I'm going to miss you all terribly.....

Left to right, Pat, Bev and Linda.... I've said it before, but Pat has really helped James and I feel at home here. When we bought the house, she put us in the car and drove us round pointing out all the ins and outs of Sneinton. And she was poorly at the time. Thank you Pat! She has also provided much knitting and sewing support, helping with heming two dresses so far....


Baldeesh, going some actual, bone fide knitting! Baldeesh came to the knitting and Stitching show with Sarah and I last year. Lucky she did, she kept feeding us sandwiches and Pringles all the way there!

And Sarah (who to be fair, is knitting too....) and Monica. Isn't her conservatory beautiful? I was Sarah' bridesmaid (see my pic, top right?), we met at Uni. I was thrilled when she came to me saying she'd bought wool and could I teach her. Look at her now, a cardy in 4 ply!! Monica, I originally know from work. I was shocked when I joined a knitting group and there was a colleague!!

I really will miss these people. One of the topics of conversation on Tuesday was the lovely people you meet through knitting. So true..

Malabrigo Shawl

Thanks you all for your thoughtful and helpful comments on my last post. No new news but I'll keep you posted. (PS Annie, if we make it to the States, you bet we'll come to Boston!!)



Todays been a bit of a down day, I left the house very slowly this morning! Yesterday I went for a meeting with my new employer and colleagues. It was great, I'll tell you about it soon. So I got home, feeling very excited and I think, today, it's dawned on me that I still have lots to do before I can give my new job my full attention. To cheer myself up I made some new cards - you can see them there on the right. I think they came out well.. Off to see John Travolta making a fool of himself in Hairspray tonight with the girls. Should cheer me up no end!



As requested, here are some pics of the shawl. It's not growing quickly (lots wider than I planned), but I like it. It is such a soft, drapey fabric, just yummy.

And, just so you know, cats love gym bags.......

Bianca

So really, I DO knit. I've got back to Bianca, and I just love her so much. The fabric is just great. However. She seems to be enormous. I knitted up the medium, since those were the correct measurements. And anyway, I always knit stuff to small. I've got the correct gauge. But for some reason she just seems big. The arm holes are too long, but I think that's my fault.

Last night, I grafted the shoulder seams and pinned the side seams to check how it was before I knit the sleeves. And well, it's too big, but wearable too big, I think. I'm thinking maybe when i wash it it'll shrink a teeny bit. At the moment, for the fabric to look really good it needs to be blocked out a tiny bit more. But if I do that, it really will be too big. So maybe if I wash it a teeny bit too warm (a swatch first, of course)maybe it will all contract a bit. You know like when you wash soemthing wool and it is just that bit smaller when you next put it on. A fudge I know. But as we all know: Nell. Does. Not. Rip.

Nottingham, PA

I haven't been doing much crafy stuff this week, a bit of knitting in the evenings, picture of the growing shawl soon. I made this on Tuesday, for my friend Karen, the daughter of a Devon dairy farmer! It's her birthday today. I've also listed one on Etsy.

Randomly today, I came across a map of Delaware and Pennsylvania. I was searching for something totally different. And guess what was on it? The town of Nottingham, in Pennsylvania. James and I are half planning a trip to the States next year. A fly-drive-go-where-the-mood-takes-us kinda trip. Maybe we should go to Nottingham, PA. It sounds very different from the original (which as I'm sure you've heard me say is the world's best city!). I suppose there is no reason for them to be at all alike, my Notts is, of course, a big city, not a small town. Nottingham, PA, has less than 5000 people, 99% of which are white (there was also a category for 'Hawaiian', which I don't really get!) unlike the hugely ethnically diverse Nottingham, UK. Only 5% of Nottingham, PA residents are between 18 and 24, whereas in Nottingham UK it's about 25%, thanks to the world's best university! And, look what I could buy in Nottingham PA for the same money as our house?? This beautiful, Victorian farmhouse. Gorgeous.

Funny, it's got me thinking about the world, and how I really want to see more of it. Not just tropical, holiday destinations, but other people's home towns.....

SP Goodies

Check out this little lot! Received today from the mysterious Chocolate Gerbera........ How did she know that M&S Percy Pigs are my favourites? Yuummmmy.

Two balls of RYC Luxury Cotton DK in a lovely neutral colour, a bit hay-like. Very appropriate.

A ball of Rowan Scottish Tweed dk in a rich chocolate - I have the accompanying book already!

Some Scotland Souvenirs....... a clue??

A really cute clover phone charm, with a diamante

Lemon and Ginger tea, which is already helping me get down to work!

...all wrapped in purple tissue.

Thank you so much CG, you are so kind, everything is right on the mark!

Beautifying

In recent weeks, I haven't been doing an awful look of knitting (although I'm getting into the pink lacy scarf!). However, I have been doing odd bits of craftiness, such as this. I bought a linen jacket from Primark (or Primarni as my sister calls it!) and the buttons promtly fell off. Well, what did I expect for £12. So anyway, I made some replacements with fabric left over from a custom shop order. I just love it!! Great customisation for only half an hours' work!