West Cork, Ireland

So, at last here are some photos. This was the first morning, on Barleycove beach, just outside Goleen, where Sheila lives.

I think you can see James' mum Joan (right) was very pleased to see Sheila.

As I sat knitting in the window, this was my view, out over the Atlantic. Unfortunately yarn shopping oppertunitites are few and far between in Ireland. But I did do some actual knitting. For those of you who are familiar with the Shipping Forcast, in the distance is the Fastnet Lighthouse. We had a clear view from the house, but it's too far off for this pic.


It was lovely to go up and see Elli and Eddie in Galway. They met 5 years ago when Sarah, Elli and I were travelling in Ireland (sorry for the grainy pics!).

This is my favourite view, just outide Killarney, when we were driving back from Galway.

And, I really wish I could have bought this......

A great trip, as ever, I love Ireland.

Spoilt girlie

Today I am a spoilt girl. I really am. When we got home from Ireland (pics tomorrow) a flyer was waiting for me to say that a package was waiting at the post office. I went to get it today, and my word it is just amazing. My SP revealed herself as Kristen, aka The Kitchener Bitch.

There were 7 skeins of a delicious Acrylic/wool blend from Suss Yarns...


....Two skeins of Karabella Mohair, and two skeins of Ditto sock yarn (James has already baggsied it for some socks..)...


..a copy of Knit 1 from vogue, some celestial tea and lots of goodies from Trader Joes. Kristen knows I have a thing for chocolate and peanut butter! There was also some altoids mints (in the car!) and some catnip cat toys. I can't show you them, Daphne and Velma have squirrelled them away!
..and the peice de resistance, two skeins of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Aslan. My dream yarn!

Thank you so much Kristen, this package is so so generous. Way beyond what is expected, you are really really kind. It is a package of yarns and other things that I've just never seen before, so exciting. Kristen has really read my questionnaire and it is all spot on. I hope your SP sent you such lovely things too Kristen!

RIP Cutty Sark

The Cutty Sark has been destroyed by a fire. I am absolutely devastated. James woke me up to tell me this morning, and then I spent half an hour crying into my cornflakes whilst watching the Beeb this morning. It's just so sad. I have such happy childhood/teenage memories. The riding stables where Monty lived was just over the river, so we used to walk through the foot tunnel to Greenwich. The tunnel comes up right next to the Cutty Sark. We used to pass it on the way to the market/cinema/friends houses and later, the pub. One of my oldest friends lived near it too. I also based my GSCE art project on the ship, I spent ages there, drawing and sketching. It is just so sad.

Scary Bez went there recently too, you can see pictures of it in all it's glory on her blog too.

Unusual uses for knitting needles.....

The other day, I was finishing off my sister's PJs and I was trying to make the drawstring for the waistband. You know, when you cut a long strip , fold it lengthways, right sides together and stitch along the long side. Then you have to turn it the right way. I wandered around the house for much longer than was necessary, thinking 'what do I have that is long, thin and solid that I can use to turn this drawstring the right way. Hello! Duh! A whole collection of knitting needles. Honestly, I could not think of anything to use. A pen? A pencil, a peice of wire? I'm so dense sometimes! It got me thinking of what novel uses I have for needles.

Those bad cats keep sitting in my window boxes and have broken one of my snap-dragons. So, I staked it with a needle! Not sure it will grow back, but it was worth a try. My boxes were symmetrical before Velma sat in them!!

James tends to use one of my old needles for cake-testing (yes, he is the only one in this house who can and will bake...). Now this one lives in the utensil jar! When Mum was small she broke her leg and used to use a needle to scratching her leg under the plaster too!

I have also finished the left front (minus the buttonband) of Bianca. Here it is... I am really enjoying knitting this. Just enough interest to keep me interrested, but simple enough to be able to watch telly simultaneously. The last pic shows the colour best.

On Friday I sent the first chapter of my thesis to my supervisor to chekc over. Eeeek. Its getting a bit too real now...... roll on the next 100,000 words.....

We're off to Ireland to see some friends tomorrow, catch you all next week!

The Hulk

I'm not doing too well on the old blogging recently am I? Just a short post today. I had some bad news about Monty on Friday, so the weekend has been a bit tough. James has been away too, but I've seen my girls, my sister and my mum. I'll not go into Monty's problems too much, but basically the bone condition that he was diagnosed with two years ago has taken a dramatic turn for the worst. He's OK, and comfortable, but may go down hill quite quickly. But then again he may not. But I can't ride him again. My Vet, Tom, was fantastic, really sympathetic, and spent ages talking me through everything. Funny, I've had two training sessions recently, that were possibly some of the best rides I've ever had with him and they may have been the last. Something conspired to give us a few great last rides, after a couple of years of just mooching about.

Anyway, this blog is about knitting. I've got great knitting news, I'm waiting for light to photograph it..... watch this space. I have photos of todays completed project, some PJs for my sister's birthday. Well, kind of a birthday present (she got some perfume too!) and sort of a sorry. Last time I stayed with her I borrowed some pjyamas and strangely I woke up having ripped them all the way down one leg. Bizarre. She suggested I had a 'Hulk' moment in my sleep!

Mojo and the gorgeous Annie

Last Thursday I got to meet the absolutely lovely Annie. She was over in Worcestershire visting her late husband's family, and we agreed to meet in Birmingham for a spot of lunch and shopping. Annie is the most amazing, kind, fun and unbelievably strong person. I'm sure she won't mind me saying (afterall, she blogs about it) that Annie has had more than her fair share of tragedy, but she is still such a happy cheerful person who is great company. Just a sheer inspiration. We had a lovely lunch with her in-laws (also lovely people!) and then spent a leisurely afternoon browsing round the fab shops in Birmingham. Much better than work I say! In Debenhams, we picked up a handbag, which was incredibly soft leather, and we asked eachother if we thought it was real leather. At exactly the same moment we both leant down to smell it - the ultimate test!

It was so great to meet you Annie, and I really hope we stay friends, and get to meet again.. Here we are standing in front of the Bull, at the Bullring shopping centre. Unfortunately not a great photo of me (right)!

And maybe I can report that my mojo has returned! Today I bought some lovely Rowan 4 ply soft, to make Bianca (scroll down the link, it's on the right) from one of the previous magazines. It has texture and beads, and hopefully will re-ignite my interest. I plan to do the fronts first, and then decide whether I want the pattern all over, or whether it's overkill. Watch this space....

No knitting Mojo

So I've totally lost it. My knitting Mojo that is. I just have no enthusiasm for my knitting. And I can't bear it. It's awful. I shouldn't really cast on for something new but maybe it'll reginite my interest. So, maybe I'll go upstairs and do a bit of stash diving.. . Let me show you first, my new favourite spot in the house.

I bought this chair on eBay last week, and it was a relative steal..... It needs some minor repair here and there, but I'll let it off. It is afterall, an authentic and original art deco armchair. I love it. All James could manange was 'It smells like old people's homes', which I think is mightly unfair. It doesn't at all. We also had the whole 'its not chic, it's just shabby' conversation. Not chic, I ask you, how is 1920/30's design not chic? Well, OK, maybe he has a slight point. But I still love it!

So, here, displayed on said chair is my 'precious' stash. A box of yarn that is reserves for special ocassions. It shall not be swapped, or gifted, or used to knit presents. It is for Me. Most of it was gifted by SPs, or kind swappers, or bought on special trips. See anything in there you like? Yeah, me too. Just not sure what I can use any of it for, now. Maybe I'll cast on some simple socks. Yes, maybe I'll do that..... Or maybe I'll just increase my stash tonight at Posh Yarn. They update tonight, and I like everything on the site.....

I may not have knitting mojo, but my fingers are getting greener.... snap dragon, violas and lobelias. See.....

I love tea....

Beautiful yarn and organic cotton...

With a lack of anything else to post, I thought I'd take advantage of the sunshine and show you gorgeous yarn. Aforementioned red cotton project is coming along relatively speedily, but since it is four ply, it doesn't look any different to last time you saw it!

Firstly, Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Irving Park and Daffodil. These are my leftovers of possibly my favourite yarn, in the world, ever. Secondly, possibly the baddest cat, in the world ever. Although, I was very proud of her today, she stood up to a bad Tom who had come in through our back door and tried to eat her breakfast. Velma, on the other hand was hiding upstairs. Go Daph. I don't think they'd ever seen another cat face to face before. These photos are also momentous because they show the only patch of clean carpet in our whole house!

Also last week, I found this top in New Look, one of the UKs less upmarket highstreet stores (in my opinion). I was so pleased to see that they now have an organic cotton range and the stuff is really pretty. Dresses, tops, jeans, lots of stuff. And this top was only £8. I was reminded of Sarah's post. If I had to choose between fairtrade and organic, I would choose fairtrade (and this is just organic) but it's a start, right?

Molly's socks......Phew!

I got a lovely email from Thistlerain (aka Molly) from the knittyboards, thanking me for her socks. What a relief - she loved them! and she said they fitted. I am so relieved! Molly doesn't have a blog, so here they are, on my feet just before I sent them.

Pattern: Knitty Universal Toe Up
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Dafodil and Opal Uni (shade?)

Time to Knit: Too long!

I also sent her a needle roll, just like this one, now listed in my etsy shop (pic is a link).

Today I we went yarn shopping, and to meet up with two lovely knittyheads, Kat/Koshka and Charlotte/LittleMy, both really really nice chatty people. Great company. We went to Yarn in Beeston and Heath's Country Store in New Ollerton. Both are great shops, the second sells fabric too! It was esepcially nice that both shops have quite different stock. These are the spoils. The fabric is destined to be needle rolls I think, to add to my stock.

This yarn is Super Soxx by Lang, and I just love the colours. It'll be socks for me, at last. I'm thinking of using the Jaywalker pattern, after seeing Charlotte's today.

And finally, some of you may remember that I'm keen to get a few ideas out of my head and into a pattern. This project was abandoned, the colours just weren't working. This is the current one. 350 stitches on 3.25mm needles. What was I thinking??

New etsy items!

I don't really like promoting myself here, but I thought you all might like to see......

I feel a bit awkward selling to people I know, but it's always nice if they feel like they can mention me to their pals!

Moonshine update and my fabric problem......

So you may remember I am knitting Moonshine, from Rowan Classic Style, using Sirdar's Denim Aran in Aspen. I would once have called myself a yarn snob, but, I love this yarn, despite it's acrylic-ness. Its a great cotton blend, and although most of the colours are a bit wishy washy for my taste, the newer ones are great, well saturated shades. Anyway, I digress. I've been kniting this since well, since this book came out, last autumn. I've missed the boat for this winter, so it's kind of gone on the back burner. It is a slow (due to the double moss stitch), monotonous knit that seems to go on for ever. I think it's going to need a lot of careful blocking (when do I ever do that??) as all the pieces I've done so far (the back, one sleeve and half a front) don't sit squarely when I lay them out. I'm not sure why, my knitting is correct, I'm sure. But, it will be great when its done, and be the knid of item I hope to wear a lot. Here is the half knitted front.....

And here's that yarn I bought last weekend although the project is covert!

My lovely friend Amanda warned me a while back that fabric was addictive as yarn and she was right. I think I have a problem. I bought this is JL yesterday and I need more. I just love it's kitschy cottagey feel. And only £5 a metre. If I wasn't so broke my mum had to fill my car up yesterday (Before you all panic that James, Daphne, Velma, Monty and I are about to starve, I get paid on Friday and mum bought us a big bag of organic veg yesterday too, not that that would help the catties!) I would have bought the whole bolt!! So far, it's been made in to a little surprise treat to go into my package for the lovely Molly.

Here too is a selection of the fabric that came home from Ripon last weekend.... As you can see, I clearly don't need more fabric.

I hope you all have lovely spring sunshine streaming through your windows today, just like we have. Happy Sunday everyone.

How did my boy fit into these??

We have just got home from a lovely weekend with James' mum who lives in Ripon, North Yorkshire. It's a lovely part of the world, and I just love it. Anyway, James' mum is bracing herself to move so is trying to clear stuff out. We spent this morning going through boxes and she gave me lots of fabric, which will come in very handy! I'll take some pictures when I get a chance. We also found these, which she made when the boys (James and his older brother Rich) where born. So, getting on for 30 years ago for one of them. I held one up to Richard, an ex-Royal Marine and it's so hard to picture them fitting into these tiny clothes! I think they're beautiful and she told me she's saving them for her grandchildren, which is so exciting. Only she might be waiting a few years yet! Speaking of childhood, Amanda, the horse in my last post is Tutti Fruiti, a childhood friend rather than a vintage find. My aunt bought him when we were small, and mum has kept him carefully ever since, although he has no tail, bridle or saddle! I think he was much loved. Tutti Fruiti was an ice cream flavour when we were small, that was kind of synthetically fruit flavoured with bizarre little bits in it. We clearly liked that too!

On Saturday morning, I took myself off to Knaresborough to Sheepish, one of my favourite yarn shops (the new website does not do it justice yet). Despite having no money whatsoever I managed to spend £15 on some cotton, a pattern (can't show you, it's for a present!) and Rowan's Studio number 3. There is a lovely cabled tank top pattern which is next on my list... The people as always, were lovely and very complimentary about my Icarus. What I particularly like is that they leave you alone to peruse and stand in the corner gossiping instead. Perfect, I can be left to my own thoughts when yarn shopping! Gosh, that sounds really anti-social, but I'm sure you knitters know what I mean!

After that we went to Wetherby for the horse racing. Despite being horsey (and ridden race horses for a chunk of my teenage years, and owning an ex-steeplechaser) I've never been racing. Yorkshire however, has a huge racing culture. I loved it! The boys were keen on the gambling, and I admit it was fun, just a pound or two here or there. I insisted on deciding on my horse by actually looking at them in the parade ring. It reminds me why they are such a big part of my life and I'd struggle if I had to give them up. They are just amazing creatures. I took some random photos, these horses don't have any significance except they reminded me a bit of Mont.

They are so strong and powerful, yet on the most part graceful and kind. One got loose on the track at the last race and legged it around the track, ears pricked, tail in the air, clearly showing off and enjoying himself!

And lastly, James' mum gave me these daffs, unusual don't you think? Really frilly in the middle..