purplejenknits

Kittens

2012-01-25T22:27:00.002+01:00

Cocoa had three beautiful kittens yesterday. One is pure black and the other two have white socks. They're so cute and squeaky. It makes me think about how vulnerable baby animals are. i think one or maybe two of them may become permanent residents as this is Cocoa's last litter. It took a while to get a picture of them.

This is the best i could manage ... given a very protective mother.

Mostly they were hiding and got many pictures of various bits of Cocoa and her nipples (apologies to Cocoa for the picture)

Odd Socks

2012-01-22T23:39:00.002+01:00

Here are a pair of deliberately odd socks that were knitted as a gift (apologies for the picture but it was taken while in hospital on my phone). The socks have different cables on them and were knitted as a 'Thank you' present for someone who really helped me through last year. They were knitted odd partly because i wear odd socks and couldn't knit a matching pair and partly because i wanted them to be totally unique. i used a simple toe up pattern with a couple of clever Lucy Neatby tricks for toe up heels.

Big picture update ...

2012-01-21T18:31:00.004+01:00

When i look back over my creative journal from 2011 i realise i've achieved more than i thought and actually finished a few things despite feeling like i was "running in high heels through a river of mud" as Karine Polwart so eloquently puts it). Here follows some of Purplejen's creative exploits from 2011, finished and still in-progress.

1. Quilted fabric bag made as a gift (finished)

2. Reverse applique stained glass wall hanging (in progress). Most of the fabric for this was hand dyed. Will post pictures as it develops into the complete picture.

3. Purple/rainbow quilt (in-progress, as its a gift can't show whole thing until its finished).

There are 9 paper pieced purple ribbons representing the colour of the womens movement (was the colour representing the suffragettes) and it is worn by women worldwide to raise awareness about violence against women (printable pattern from Carol Doak), 4 fusible bias tape designs and some words made from fusible bias tape in silver. The binding is dark purple. The top is finished, its layered and needs quilted which is going to be quite a challenge to my poor concentration. The designs in fusible bias tape were drawn onto paper and the paper placed under the white fabric and it was easy enough to follow.

4. Modern mix flowers quilt made as a gift.

This was based on a kit designed by Esther at Purely Patchwork. The flowers were appliqued onto the background before assembling the top. The centre of the flowers was stitched using flower stitch sewing machine foot which is a fun to use once you get the hang of it. The main body of the quilt was quilted in the ditch and finished with freehand loops and vermicelli.

5. My dragonfly pin cushion

6. Top down set-in sleeve top ala Barbara Walker (finished but needs blocked and the ends woven in.

The purple sparkly yarn is a Old Maiden Aunt sock yarn (two strands held together) which has lovely subtle colour variation and the rest is Noro Kureyon sock yarn. The yellow wedge halfway down is the bust dart modification ala Ysolda Teague (Little Red in the City), i was a bit worried about the yellow wedge emphasizing a large bust but it works just fine. It was modelled by a friend but i failed to get a picture (to follow once its properly blocked and finished).

7. Twist and Shout Cardigan

Free Knitty pattern in unbranded pure wool coned tweed yarn. Quick to knit but sadly turn out too big so will either get a new owner or might try a controlled felting experiment (Note to self (!) - need to find the remaining yarn to test on first!)

8. Sandra's Mitts - P/hop Cranford Pattern in Old Maiden Aunt Sparkly sock yarn (no picture as gifted)

9. Geraldine's Odd socks (picture to follow).

Deliberately odd socks knitted in Ripples Yarn high twist Falkland merino/nylon blend in lipstick red. More about this later)

10. Preemie socks/mitts in Old Maiden Aunt Sparkly sock yarn (no picture as gifted)

Simple pattern i designed for a 6 week premature baby which fit as a tube sock just now and can be worn as mitts as the baby grows.

11. Williams Scarf (gifted so no photo but it was truly unique).

This was a pattern i made up to reflect a journey from one not so good place to a much better place. Might try and get a photo when i next see the recipient.

12. Nicole's Pixie hat (picture to follow)

Elefant

2012-01-21T18:03:00.004+01:00

Elefant has been Jen's companion for quite some time now. He's quite a character and has been in a bad mood with me this week for no apparent reason. With this in mind i thought i'd give him a wee moment of fame to cheer him up. He appeared in Jen's rucksack one day seemingly out of nowhere (i struggle with amnesia and hope i didn't deprive a small child of their toy), so i decided a while ago to write a story about Elefant's identity and how he came to be. He wears a hoodie i made for him back in August. Its a pattern i designed for him, it includes a wee hole for his tail and a dart at the back to fit his bum. Its made from Lana Grossa sock yarn (he choose it ... otherwise it would have been purple!). He's usually very patient and definitely long-suffering. He puts up with me (enough said!) and looks after me when i struggle, also an elephant has a perfect memory (the opposite of me!). He likes swings and slides and hiding in my knitting and dislikes hospitals, girlie things and Flanders and Swann's Elefant Song.

Here's Elefant trying hard not to pose ...

He's the first part of his story ...

Elefant was spotted beside the till in the Britannia Panopticon charity shop one driech October afternoon. It was sitting on top of a small bookcase that contained a diverse selection of books labelled as ‘esoterica’.

No-one knew how Elefant had got there, it had simply appeared one day. At first they thought it had fallen out of a small child’s clutches and then been put on the shelf to avoid being trampled on in a dark corner, or had been left behind by the harassed young mother who was in the habit of leaving assorted possessions on the shelves as she tended to her infants whims. However as time went on the staff realised that no-one was going to claim Elefant so he acquired a name (Elephant), sex (male) and a price tag (£2.50).

Although he was simply made from some stuffed stripey fabric with white suede-like tusks and his bottom half filled with beans, he was much admired by the regulars. The staff became quite fond of his black thread eyes and floppy ears. He was very life-like and could seemingly pull a multitude of expressions depending on his pose. He could appear to be silly and happy to cheer a crying toddler, sad and patient when listening to the grumpy old man’s woes and wise and ready for an adventure when patted by the French student. He seemed contented and didn’t mind being handled by his many admirers.

It was a Saturday lunchtime the following week that Elephant was purchased along with a reprint of an old Ordanance Survey map of Pollokshields 1894, a 1940’s edition of Modern home needlecraft and a postcard that said “This would be really funny if it wasn’t happening to me”. It all happened very quickly so no-one got a chance to glimpse his purchaser or say goodbye. (to be continued ...)

2012-01-08T09:43:00.002+01:00

One of the things that helped me through my time in hospital was keeping a journal and also managing to go to a few creative writing sessions. The creative writing involved various exercises including writing Haiku, short stories and various other fun things. One of these was to go round everyone in the room and say the first word that comes into your head and then write a short story incorporating all the words.

Here are the words from one session: zoo, sheep, coffee, doorstep, television, content, rave, banana, music, claptrap, Egyptian, vampire, bottle, juice, happy, bat, ocean and disco.

No prizes for guessing Purplejen's word!

If you feel inspired why not try and write your own story using these words and blog it ... if you do. leave a comment and maybe we could try an electronic version of this game.

Here's my piece (the words to be used are highlighted in bold):

The disco music on the breakfast television was making me rant and rave about the claptrap they call modern life. Meanwhile my pet sheep had stolen my coffee and the banana that was my breakfast and was now perfectly happy and content at having escaped from its pen and was trampling on my doorstep. It made me think of my trip to the zoo yesterday where there was an Egyptian vampire bat stuck inside a bottle of juice that someone had thrown into its cage and i hoped it had escaped like the sheep which was now heading for the ocean road.

2012-01-06T19:14:00.002+01:00

I haven't blogged for nearly 6 months! Its been a complicated and stressful time. I've been in hospital for 14 out of the last 22 weeks which i really can't quite believe. I'm feeling better now . . . but in some ways the hard work to fully recover is only at its beginning.

But i have been knitting ... lots and lots. i was allowed to knit in hospital as long as i handed my needles in at night ... so have been making hats, socks and jumpers and have used up my GSOY stash and made a dent into the Noro and also some Colorimetry. Watch this space for pictures :)

2011-07-19T14:55:00.005+01:00

Well i couldn't change the date listing on blogger ... ho hum ... nevermind

Here are some pictures of a coil pot i made using some standard Coil Pot Cording i got at Woolfest. The roving i used is some hand dyed Colorimetry Scottish wool roving that i couldn't part with. It involved separating the roving into strips as if to spin and then wrapping it round the cord and then securing the coils to each other using a zigzag stitch on the sewing machine. It took a bit of practice to get the hang of it ... it ended up 9" in diameter, base is 14 rounds and sides 16. This used about half a pack of the cording. I also have a pack of soft coil pot cording to make a hat.

and the wrong way up ...

I made this little elephant for one of friends who was having a really tough time back in January and had admired my soft toy called elefant. I put a lucky penny in each of his feet because she was needing some luck ... i'm happy to report she is in a much better place now due to her hard work and not a lot to do with the lucky pennies. It was a free pattern on Ravelry funnily called Elefant and made from Regia DK sock yarn. Apologies for the rubbish picture, it was taken with my phone.

Here's a cushion i made back in january, its to match the rainbow bargello quilt i made the year before last. It was a present for my father this year.

... and Cocoa had 5 kittens back in June (pictures to follow) two girls (ginger, white and black) and three boys (black and white).

Currently stuck (due to lack of concentration and brain power) on my second Rogue hoodie. I'm going to modify the pattern to include bust darts as very well explained in Ysolda Teague's new book called Little Red in the City. I'm knitting it in Noro Cash Iroha in a purple/pink solid colourway.

Also trying to design and make a paper pieced quilt that depicts a thistle. Currently struggling with choosing which fabrics to use for the greens. Then which fabrics to use side by side. The only conclusion i come to is that green is a very complex colour! ... more to follow

2011-07-18T17:25:00.002+01:00

Due to Lack of Interest, Tomorrow Has Been Canceled .... (is a 1969 book by Irene Kampen and a lyric from the Kaiser Chiefs)

This is a cryptic but necessary post ... everyone has days in the year that are significant ... well tomorrow is one of 'those' days so tomorrow will be randomly assigned as the 13th October and the 13th of October will become tomorrow. Well it makes sense to me :)

All fleeces have been washed and the last couple are still drying ...

Fleece and Sheepiness

2011-06-30T20:47:00.003+01:00

Jacob

Shetland

Shetland x Merino

Derbyshire Gritstone

Gotland x north of england mule (Swaledale x BFL)

Need i say more?

Two quilts

2011-06-30T20:20:00.007+01:00

Writing this tonight to try and distract myself from something that is bothering me. There are various strategies that sometimes work when something is bugging me: distraction, having a plan of action and writing lists. Other suggestions gratefully received!

Here are some pictures of some quilts that the creative "part of me" has made as gifts in the last 6 months. This blog belongs to that "part of me".

Firstly a scrappy batik quilt.

Secondly Theo's (my nephew) birthday quilt which was completed nearly 6 months late but he didn't seem to mind. The lighthouse and boats and the locomotive were paper pieced and the rest were panels cut into blocks. The wheels for the train were yo-yo's appliqued on after quilting.

Oh and Cocoa had 5 kittens last monday. Four of them have their eyes open.

Also Hannah has listed lots of Colorimetry Shetland yarn on etsy for anyone who's interested.

2011-05-18T09:59:00.002+01:00

Purplejen spent a day painting ceramics at The Life Craft. It was so easy and so relaxing. Here are pictures of my items after painting and then glazing and firing. i'm already hoping to go back to do some more in the near future.

2011-04-29T19:13:00.002+01:00

Purplejen hasn't completely disappeared ... having a tough time and hiding from the world dyeing wool to desperately retain my hold on sanity. Have just looked out some Noro to knit either another rogue or a summer hoodie.

2010-10-22T01:20:00.001+01:00

insomnia prevails :(

Hand dyed yarn pictures #2

2010-05-30T19:31:00.006+01:00

Scottish worsted spun dk 100% wool

Chunkysoft wool nylon blend

Silky summer - Aran weight Silk, Rayon cotton blend

Selection of laceweight wool, merino and kid mohair/silk

Irish aran 100% wool (softer than the Scottish aran)

Soft chunky - thick aran weight wool, silk, microfibre

Selection of roving some from varous Scottish sheep breeds and some Merino

Swaledale pencil roving 100% Swaledale wool

English wool pencil roving 100% wool (spins up quite soft)

This is one of my favourites. I've spun up a wee bit cos I couldn't resist.

One lonely skein of merino pencil roving

more to follow maybe tomorrow .... dyeing is so much fun!

Hand dyed yarn pictures #1

2010-05-30T17:57:00.002+01:00

So here is the first batch of hand dyed yarn pictures. Am selling 95% ish of everything I've dyed to cover my costs (and allow me to dye more yarn) and raise money for charity (Amnesty International is my chosen charity for 2010). Its all been reskeined, labelled and priced with the Colorimetry logo in collaboration with H. However we are undecided if we're going to list this on etsy. I'd rather offer it to anyone interested and maybe do a craft fair as I think this is a more personal experience. What do you think?

This is Purplejen sock yarn 80% wool 20% silk.

Scottish worsted spun aran 100% wool

Shetland Jumperweight yarn gradient dyed so gradual colour variations across skein.

Shetland jumperweight yarn 100% Shetland wool

... off to take next batch of pics. I love any comments on the colourways as they are ones that I've chosen as pictures in my head from nature.

Picture Update

2010-05-28T18:48:00.006+01:00

I've managed (somehow) to uncorrupt the camera card and can show pics of crafty things Jan - April 2010. Ok and a few kitten pics to cheer Cocoa up. She lost another foetus today but she doesn't seem at all bothered. She's been really purry and clingy all day wanting fuss all the time. It feels a bit like she thinks I'm one of her kitten.

These are Sunny and (An)gus. They were born back in January and went to their lovely new kitten homes a while back.

These are my two nephews D and T

This is the bargello quilt I made from silk for my father's birthday back in January.

Sock 1 - Trekking XXL ans Sirdar Town and Country. Toe up pattern, made up on a whim myself. Now finished still to find the motivation to knit sock 2.

Here is Mermaid. Hanne Falkenberg pattern made from the kit DH gave me. I love this cardigan and can see myself knitting another sometime.

Luminem (from Twist Collective) - having a bit of a sporadic effort on this one. I've modified the pattern to make it top down and am struggling to get the pockets right (and matching!). The photo isn't a good reflection of the colour which is a deep green/blue.

My Mountain wilderness quilt in progress. Haven't made any progress on this in the last few months. Still trying to work out where to go next with it. Should I put some deer next ... or a bothy ... or a stone wall and a field of sheep .... i wish i could make decisions.

Finally a goats cheddar cheese I made a while back. I got 8 litres of goats milk for 80 pence as it was going out of date and then froze it until I was ready. Unfortunately I didn't press it quite hard enough and it suffered from blue mouldiness so we didn't eat it.

2010-05-28T09:02:00.002+01:00

It was sad last night. Cocoa aborted 3 of her latest kitten foetuses. They were at about 40 days (half way thru pregnancy). We think its due to a bacterial infection. I told her not to hang around feral boy cats as they carry all sorts of diseases but she didn't listen to me. The previous two litters have had one father who isn't feral and looks well looked after. This time he was hanging around her and also a scrawny feral thing. She took it all in her stride and was purring away this morning demanding food. Nothing changes! We'll keep her in for a while and give her a rest ... don't want her getting boy cat ideas again!

2010-05-26T08:51:00.001+01:00

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom. ~ Anais Nin

The op on my foot went ok and it feels so much better than its done in ages.

2010-05-19T07:28:00.002+01:00

Quick update:

* Gordon will appear on TV this week for the next 3 days. BBC 2 4.30pm, the programme is called "A question of genius"

*I've finished working for my difficult boss and am signed off sick for the next 3 months.

* I'm getting my foot op today and am really excited about it. I've had a Morton's neuroma (enlarged nerve) in my foot for the last few years and it has restricted my ability to hillwalk and exercise. Today is the day the nerve is taken out. Its done as day surgery under local anaesthetic. Unfortunately the next 2 weeks will be spent lying on the sofa ... knitting!

* I've been busy dyeing yarn, I have over 400 skeins of yarn i've dyed myself and roving etc. Pictures will follow ... when I've got a new card for the camera as the current one is corrupt.

* Also spinning lots.

I'm looking forward to catching up on reading all your blogs.

2010-05-19T07:27:00.001+01:00

One need not be a chamber to be haunted:
One need not be a house;
The brain has corridors surpassing Material place.

-Emily Dickenson, “Time and Eternity”

More kittens

2010-01-19T08:11:00.002+01:00

You may well ask if this is a knittin' blog or a kitten blog!

I woke up this morning to a little squeaking surprise! We knew Cocoa was expecting but thought it was another week or two before she was due. Well she's had 2 kittens so far and i think that's probably all but time will tell.

Where have i been the past 6 to 18 months?

This a question I've spent a while trying to answer for myself. The past two years have been incredibly stressful and difficult. I'm very good (aren't we all!) at putting on a mask and pretending to the outside world that everything is ok. Also trying to ignore things by burying my head in lots of things and keeping busy. I'm not ready to talk about the issues i'm struggling with but those of you who know me well *know*. I've recently taken some 'time out' of life as everything caught up with me (slowly not in a dramatic way!). During this time i've learnt to listen to myself and am getting to know me a bit better. This is going to sound cliched ... i've worked on long term healing rather than surviving from one day to the next. This has meant slowly working thru and letting go of stuff so it doesn't have a hold on me anymore. This is a difficult and time consuming process as my mind is conditioned to 'space out' and run away from the really scary stuff in a process called dissociation which is accompanied by some really negative scary coping mechanisms. Anyway i finally feel like i've turned a corner and am ready to slowly re-engage with the outside world.

Where has the knitting gone?

Creativity and craft have played a huge part in my survival and will continue to do so in my onward journey. I have lots to show and tell ...

(to be continued ... going to spend some time with Cocoa ...)

2009-11-03T15:08:00.002+01:00

Post #250!

I was saving this post for something special but its been awhile ... so i guess posting something at all counts!

i finished Mermaid a while back and have worn her loads. I made the large size with modified shortened sleeves and she fits perfectly.

Luminen is in progress ... am changing the construction from bottom up to top down. I've just reached the point where the cable border traverses to form the top of the pockets. I'm knitting her in a deep green/blue which is a bit of a diversion for me ...

The kittens have all been gone to their new homes for a few weeks now ... see here for some pics of Hester and Toby. Hannah keeps me amused with tales of Patches and Loki.

The last few weeks I've managed to insulate under the ground floor of the house. This made a noticeable difference to the temperature with the exception of the dining room/library. I worked out why this is always cold and so is my room which is directly above it. This is because one of the air bricks is missing its cavity wall sleeve. This is an interesting one to retrofit ... So two weeks ago we started lifting the bendy chipboard floor that was down in the kitchen and replacing it with floorboards. G was a real star, he dug out all the nail heads in the old chipboard while i got to lay the shiny new boards. There's one more coat of varnish to go and then i can start planning the rest of the kitchen ...

I started my level 4 Senior Club trampoline coaching course on saturday. This will allow me to coach double somersaults and rudi (1 and 1/2 twisting front sommi) and full back (full twisting back sommi). There are a few people in the club who will benefit from this and the first day of the course went ok. Thanks to Amanda for being a volunteer pupil.

So once again (as always) life is hectic. I'm involved in running a clinical study as part of my work in the next few weeks which means early starts and late finishes. i thought i'd share a funny thing regarding this. G was applying for another TV show (a question of genius) and asked me to look over his application form before he sent it. Here is an excerpt from it

"Have you had any interesting jobs in the past?I’ve been in the same job for over 20 years though in that time I’ve seen some interesting sites. Recently, I’ve been a guinea pig that my wife has developed in the lab"

Well you learn something new every day!!!

2009-09-30T17:01:00.003+01:00

Long time no blog ... my creative head has been in a strange place the last couple of months. I know why and I've done something about it but it might well take a while to fully resolve itself. A bit cryptic I know ...

Just back from holiday ... 2 weeks of walking in the Swiss alps. Managed to go over on my foot the first day ... 2 weeks later having walked 100 miles and climbed the height of Everest from sea level before deciding to get it xrayed. I've done a David Beckham and broken my fifth metatarsal. Its not too painful until I try and walk downhill.

Knittingwise I've nearly finished Mermaid (1 sleeve to go) and started knitting Luminen from the latest Twist Collective while on holiday. I've also nearly finished a Bargello quilt in silk for my father. I have a long list of knitting projects for this autumn.

The kittens are growing up fast. Two of them have gone to live with Hannah. The middle two on the picture below are going to http://peeriemoot.blogspot.com/. I'll be sad to see them go but know that they've gone to fabulous exciting pussycat homes.

More kittens

2009-07-30T13:39:00.002+01:00

The kittens are growing noticeably bigger each day. Cocoa moved them from our sofa to my bra drawer (!) on monday. The first I knew about it is when I pulled out a squeaking kitten along with my bra when getting dressed.

I've finished a pair of stripey socks and started Hanne Falkenberg's Mermaid that I've been talking about for the past few years.

Kitten Pics!

2009-07-20T20:39:00.002+01:00

Kittens!!! She had four in all, two black and white and two torties.
They're beautiful.

Day 1 (about 3 hours after they were born)

Day 2

Day 3

One of the torties has half an eye open.

This picture is of the wee runt who seems to have doubled in size in two days.

2009-07-18T13:14:00.001+01:00

KITTENS!!!!!

Cocoa started labour 45mins ago and has just had #4 ... i wonder how many more there will be.
All the action is happening on the spare duvet on our sofa ...!

Daffodil

2009-07-14T12:53:00.004+01:00

Remember back in June i mentioned that I'd started a Marianne Kinzel lace project ...
What i didn't mention is which one and which yarn ....

I've wanted to knit daffodil for a while ... and thought that the pattern could justify the use of some self striping yarn.

I usually cringe at the thought of a lace project done in multicolour.

To attempt to see if this phobia was justified I decided to brave a large lace project in multicolour. After some careful swatching followed by dyeing of some Jamieson and Smith 2ply laceweight (1000yd) and then knitting on 4.5mm needles, and a near running out of yarn disaster 3 rounds from the end ...

I present Daffodil which I gave as a present last week and think it was well received ...

I like the way the colours change the shape of the central trumpet to more like those seen in the daffs i have in my garden.

so ... what's your verdict? Can self-striping handye work for lace?

2009-07-06T16:43:00.000+01:00

I forgot to say yesterday that the house is now ours ...YIPEE!!!!

2009-07-05T19:46:00.002+01:00

Apologies for the delay in posting ... currently working on something secret ... and I've misplaced the battery charger for the camera in the move.

I'm just casting off the lace project which is a gift ...

I have the necessary paraphenalia for sock knitting packed for train knitting tomorrow and some scrummy Trekking XXL in a purple/green colourway. This is good for me because I have been playing a lot with the colour green recently.

Just about to start warping my loom for a wallhanging project I was dreaming about last week and seemed like a good idea ... most of the things I dream about aren't good ideas in the cold light of morning.

It taking me a long time to get my craft room a) organised b) the way that feels right. I've made some progress this weekend in rearranging the furniture for like the tenth time (literally) and I'll see how this works out. One minor flaw I've spotted already is the cacti on the window sill are tall enough to obstruct the blind but not wide enough to block out the evening sun ... sigh.

Its been incredibly warm and sunny here recently. I went for a longish run earlier and was really suffering in the heat and was glad of the shade of the trees on the latter half of the route.

Oh and Cocoa is expecting her kittens in the next week or two. Today is day 54 of her gestation and she's quite big. We can see the kittens moving inside her which she doesn't understand and keeps trying to swipe her paw at her belly!

2009-06-11T08:55:00.001+01:00

I'm up to round 28 in 2 days of train knitting ... only ripped once ... a pattern misreading error on my part ... in round 3 and 4.

2009-06-10T08:59:00.002+01:00

Finally a decision has been made on all my WIPs ... they're either finished or ripped ...

The Kureyon jacket is finished (no photo just yet) but made her debut at the Shotts highland games on saturday.

The top down fair isle is ripped and abandoned.

I still have a large pile of mending/sewing to get on with.

I have in my knitting bag today some Colorimetry hand dyed lace in red/yellow/orange and Marrianne Kinzel's Second book of modern lace knitting ... Which pattern do you think I've started?

D's birthday photos

2009-05-20T10:53:00.004+01:00

... Remember I mentioned going to visit my sister the week before we moved?

Well I've finally pulled the pictures off the camera. It was a lovely weekend and great to spend time with my two nephews.

It was D's second birthday so my sister and I made a cake. D is obsessed with construction vehicles and rasenmaier (lawnmowers ... but he only knows the German word for it). We made him a tipper truck. The cake receipe is my trusted 1950's one and is great for carving into shapes ...

225 g butter
400 g white sugar
5 ml vanilla extract
4 eggs
15 g baking powder
375 g Plain flour
235 ml milk
1 g salt

Mix together in food processor and pour into shallow flat tin and bake at 170 degrees Celcius (fan oven) for about 30 mins or until cake is springy to touch.

Voila ... a few hours later with the aid of half a kebab skewer

oh and its much easier to cut out the shapes and cover them in chocolate before assembling!

This is Elsa ... she's my sisters really friendly cat

This is baby T, D's younger brother ...

This is the quilt I made D for his birthday

and also the Fisher Gansey ... although D wasn't for trying it on.

I'll be back later with a more up to date post as I'm knee deep in UFO's ... I'm being strict trying to get them finished before I start new things.

2009-05-11T16:34:00.000+01:00

Purplejen's appearance in the Dundee Courier!

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2009/05/11/newsstory13117815t0.asp

2009-05-10T11:15:00.002+01:00

Hello again (she says peaking out from the countryside) ...

We're settling in after the move ... the new house is fantastic and we've concluded missives on the sale of our flat.

I'm still drowning in the great stash audit but hope to be finished this next week and then I'll get back to knitting.

I've got my craft room nearly set up but keep changing my mind about the layout!

I was demonstating spinning yesterday at the Scottish machine knitters show in Perth and met loads of fab folk. Thanks everyone you were such a great inspiration.

More posts to follow with pics etc ... and we FINALLY have broadband at home!!!

2009-04-02T08:06:00.002+01:00

****GOOD NEWS****

We've accepted an offer on our flat for the full asking price. YIPEEE!

The entry date is the 1st july.

We get the keys to the new place on tuesday and are moving in next weekend, renting it for 3 months before we buy. I'm so excited!!!!

I'm heading off to Derbyshire to see my sister and family for my nephew's 2nd birthday this weekend, so our packing up will be done in a hurry.

2009-03-31T08:22:00.002+01:00

This is going to be my new craft room when we move.

We saw the house again on saturday and there were sheep in the field you can see in the picture. You can probably tell I'm really excited!!!

Time for tea swap

2009-03-27T09:00:00.003+01:00

Quick update and time for tea swap ...

Life has been manic recently both at work and home. I have a few emails etc to send to my vitual friends for a while and haven't done so ... please be patient with me.

Work has been a series of deadlines ... but its done and I filed my first patent (woohoo). I have one more deadline in 3 weeks time and then hopefully things will calm down.

Home has been busy too. We ARE (hopefully ... fingers crossed) moving on the 9th April. We haven't managed to sell our flat (but have someone coming round for a second viewing tomorrow) but we are going to rent the house in the countryside that we were hoping to buy last year ... and then buy it once our flat is sold. We visited my sister and family and DH's family last weekend which was great. I'm heading back to my sisters next weekend to celebrate my nephew's 2nd birthday.

I took part in Vonnies time for tea swap. My swap partner was Kerry who throughly spoiled me.

Look at the goodies she made for me.

Purple sparkly knitting needles ...

A beautiful resin pendant with tea leaves imbedded in it. This matches my new green suit perfectly.

I had a long browse of Kerry's website, she is totally gifted! I hope she likes the things I've made for her (I'm feeling quite inadequate just now...)

Finally I finished a few things in a hurry before last weekend (and in my rush forgot to photograph most of them!)

Here is the Alphabuddies quilt for my new nephew ...

I also finished the fishermans jumper and a long coat for my tall sister and a wee (but still too big) baby tee shirt. I'll try and get my sister to take some action shots ...

2009-03-10T08:36:00.002+01:00

Well you're probably bored of me going on about how busy work has been. Believe me the last couple of weeks have been off the scale ... but I'm pleased to report that I'm really proud of the work I've done. I have a report due in this thurs and a presentation to give next weds and after that things should (fingers firmly crossed) be a lot calmer. Most working days at the moment start before 7.30am and finish around 8pm!

I've been knitting. Last weekend I volunteered to teach knitting at the SECC Creative stitches show. It was a really rewarding experience if a lot less laid back than in previous years. It was great to catch up with some amazing people including Yvonne, Nancy, Pat, Alice, the ladies from New Lanark and Jamie Possum, and all the knitters from Gourock. There was one little girl I taught who really sticks in my mind. She was intelligent, sophisticated, witty, quick to learn ... and 6 years old!

I got a Bond Classic knitting machine the other week from a charity shop. I've had a play and love the way it knits up aran weight yarn. It was in brand new condition apart from keyplate 4 is damaged. trying to source some bits and pieces for it over here. Currently knitted swatches of Debbie Bliss Maya and some New Lanark Donegal tweed, both were easy to knit and look fab. The Bond is a very simple machine and I having learned how a knitting machine works on the Knitmaster helped a lot. i think it will be useful but the Knitmaster is definately my main machine.

No pics today as I left the camera at home ...

I finished the Spring meadow socks having found the half finished one I had lost.

Currently I've a lot of WIPs (in order of finishedness)

1. Baby cashcotton T-shirt (seaming and poppers required).
2. My nephews fishermans gansey (on second sleeve otherwise complete, needs finished by next thurs)
3. Black 4ply v neck for DH (needs sleeves)
4. Lilac merino cashmere spring sweater (needs sleeves and a minor mistake fixed)
5. Sewn suit - need to hem and tidy up seams
6. Debbie Bliss Maya jumper
7. New Lanark Donegal tweed coat (needed for next thurs ....)

2009-02-22T16:56:00.003+01:00

So its been quite some time since I last posted .... I haven't forgotten and have been busy knitting. However I've been working hard and had a viral bug this past month which hasn't inspired me to use the laptop in my spare time. Having a lazy sunday afternoon as I still don't feel quite well and thought I'd pop to the Tav for a spot of WiFi.

Apologies for the rubbishness of my pics, I took them when DH was out last week so no action shots.

I finished the fecruary lady sweater. Its at least a couple of sizes too big but its cozy and sure got lots of compliments when I wore her out. I was debating whether she's a short dressing gown or a sweater coat. I think it looked ok with my grey suit trousers and a white shirt.

Knitted from Noro Shinano. 5mm needles. Used 10 Balls of yarn made 42" bust size.

I think i mentioned previously that I received Fitted knits by Stephanie Japel for Christmas. I decided to knitted the fitted suit first but the jacket and skirt I've knitted don't match (deliberately!) I'll make a complementary skirt to the jacket and a matching jacket for the skirt at some point.

The jacket is made from Noro Iro. 6.5mm needles. 600g Size large. I loved this pattern the shaping is very flattering and it looks smart. This also goes well with the grey trousers and white shirt. When I make the next one (I can't resist) I'll put a zip in rather than the hooks and eyes.

I've always been unsure of the concept of a knitted skirt. Probably because most of the patterns are quite flouncy and airy. I wanted a skirt that was short and flattering, and this is exactly how this turned out. Its quite a solid fabric without being too heavy. Its knitted out of New Lanark DK (two strands held together). Size medium (I'm smaller round the bottom than my top) and used about 450g. It hasn't made a public appearance yet as I need to sew in the zip.

The next FO was knitted from a pattern in the current VK magazine. I was searching everywhere for an appropriate Valentine's card for DH. I finally gave up in Borders and started browsing the knitting mags when I saw this pattern. I made these for DH instead of a Valentines card. He loves them although it hasn't really been cold enough to wear them in anger. Its the first time he's stroked something I've knitted for him. In return he gave me a card I will treasure forever and a beautiful Celtic ring. (sorry I had to be soppy about this because I was SOOO touched).

The gloves are knitted from Wendy Guernsey (2 strands held together) and used just less than 200g. I cabled without a cable needle which worked well with this yarn. Also the grey colourway is much less scratchy that the ecru (strange eh?).

My sister finally gave birth to a not so wee boy (over 9lb) and I knitted a couple of things for him. Some romper out of blue bamboo (had wrapped them up before I realised I'd forgotten to photograph them. I also made a long cardigan from Sirdar Baby Bamboo which turned out really well. (This was knitted on the knitting machine)

I'm currently knitting a v-neck jumper for DH and finishing the jumper for my older nephew (picture below)

This is a really rubbish picture of the jumper for him. I've nearly finished the neckband now and then just need to pick up stitches and knit the sleeves.

Finally some pictures of the cats as promised.

I give you cheeky Cocoa sitting very smartly.

Shy and sloppy Kenny who's half asleep.

Cocoa watching the TV

Quick update ...

2009-01-13T09:30:00.004+01:00

Quick update ...

Trying to keep a log of my running here ... hoping that it will help me to post more regularly.

Tues 6/1/09 - Run from home, bailed out after 2 miles due to sore leg (? tendon).
Fri 9/1/09 - Run from home to parcel office to collect late christmas present for DH and
back 4.3 miles. Felt great ... leg fine.
Sun 10/1/09 - Run from Burrell Collection home in pouring rain and strong wind.
Totally soaked through but somewhat exhilarated. 4.5 miles

Total for week = 10.8 miles Total this year 17 miles

Its my fathers birthday today ... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

The february lady sweater is nearly complete ... sleeves done and body nearly long enough.
I worked on the sewn suit jacket on sunday and have fixed the sewing error but now think it needs some small shoulder pads. Then I'll clean up the seams and hand sew the hem and attach the three hook and eye closures.

I finally got the winter issue of Spin Off magazine, it was so worth the wait. I already have plans to spin for a swoopy skirt (but I think I'll use discrete beads rather than coins) and weave a felted scarf ...

BIG UPDATE

2009-01-06T09:06:00.005+01:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! HAPPY KNITTING FOR 2009

After nearly 3 weeks without the internet I thought it was time for a big update. The festive season was fairly quiet. We had a lovely Christmas spent with DH's family in a cottage on the Galloway coast (Port William). The week between Christmas and New Year was spent mostly running and crafting with a few nights out with friends. It was a wonderfully relaxing time.

This was a family photo taken by DH's mum. Its around a memorial to Midge the otter from the book Ring of Bright Water as the author Gavin Maxwell came from the area where we were staying. The beach was nearby about 10 mins walk and it was great going for a paddle in the relatively warm sea. I love doing cartwheels in the sand ...

In my last big update I included a list of plans for the coming couple of months.

1. Top down raglan for DH (and a new hat as he lost his)

Raglan is knit in Jaeger extra fine merino aran and the hat in RYC Cashsoft DK. Both were simple patterns that I made up in my head following along the lines of things I've knitted before.

2. February lady sweater (cardigan) for me (FLS) - in progress

Knitting in Noro Shinano. I love the Gull lace pattern but am a bit worried that it will turn out too big.

3. something lacy (need to dig out pattern books from storage)

Haven't given this much thought just yet

4. Laurel Burch bountiful blessings quilt- Laurel Burch Fanciful felines quilt

Haven't given this much thought yet but the thought of it is very exciting as DH bought the Laurel Burch quilting book for me at Christmas. Its got so many amazing things in it ...

5. Sewn suit

No photos just yet. The fabric I choose was a deep lavender pure wool crepe with Bremsilk lining. The Jacket just needs a tiny sewing error fixed and hemmed. Although I think I might need to face the Peplum rather than hem it to keep it nice and swingy. The trousers need a couple of buttonholes and hemmed. The lacy top is done but I think I might take the lace off and make fabric straps as I don't like the lace I've choosen, its scratchy and a bit OTT!!! I'm hoping to finish the whole thing this sometime this week.

... I got distracted by a few other things not on the list ...

A top down Raglan for myself using my some of my hand dyed wool and wool/silk. Its turned out a fraction big and shapeless towards the bottom of the body but it hasn't been blocked yet ... this hasn't stopped me from wearing it a few times!

Remember this skein of hand dyed and handspun yarn I showed a while back?

Its become my sunset scarf. Its simply moss stitch at the ends and the pattern from a recent Spin Off magazine (can't remember which one). I love the way its turned out.

And some fingerless convertible mittens to match.

I mentioned we've been out running. The weather has been great for it, really cold and crisp with hardly any wind. We did the annual Down by the River race on the 28th Dec. This is a 10km race organsied by the Cambuslang Harriers. It was -2 deg C which made it hard work but still managed not to come last although its the first 10km race DH and I have done for quite a while. I'm going to try and keep a record of my distance run in 2009 as I have no idea what it was in previous years and its the first time I've really run through the winter. So far we've been out twice once in Pollock Park and the the other in Glasgow Green, total distance 7 miles. We also managed a walk up Tinto which is a prominent hill south of Glasgow and a great walk for a short day.

I've dyed my hair again using different (Stargazer) purple and I love it. Its turn out Cadbury Dairy milk purple ... sadly its washing out at the moment ... probably a good thing. Don't think my boss was too impressed yesterday!

I do have plans and ambitions for crafting in 2009. I'd like to focus on something different each month. This would be much easier if we'd have moved as many things I'd like to do are in storage. However I'll make a start. January is going to be baby clothes on the knitting machine (both my good friend Sue and my sister are due in Jan).

The to make progress on list for Jan is:

1. Finish suit

2. FLS

3. Baby knitting on knitting machine

4. Sewn dress

5. Laurel Burch quilt

We'll see how it goes ... I'm determined not to get too distracted. Hopefully next time I'll have pictures of my sewing machine feet (a promise for my sister and anyone else whose sewing machine instructions are in two foreign languages that are completely alien to you ... I think hers are in Chinese and Japanese!) and also some pictures of the cats and my purple hair if DH manages to download the pic from his DSLR. Cocoa has really settled into being a gorgeously affectionate cat these last few months although she's become a real Daddy's girl.

Finally we're in the middle of a big freeze just now so I thought I'd post one of my Jordan pics to provide some virtual warmth (apologies if you're in a warm place).

I give you Purplejen and the camel.

2008-12-18T12:39:00.001+01:00

Purplejen has purple hair!!! Sadly also a rotten cold :-(

2008-12-11T13:34:00.001+01:00

Purplejen has purple hair dye .... also have a meeting this afternoon where I have to be professional so can't use it til tomorrow.

2008-12-03T09:14:00.002+01:00

I don't really know where the last month has gone ...

It's been a busy and somewhat stressful time. Nothing has progressed with the house sale although we've had a few viewers round. I guess its a sign of the times with mortgages being so hard to come by.

On the knitting front I've finished the sunset scarf and matching mitts and need to spin some more yarn for the hat. Otherwise I've a few christmas presents on the go that I really must finish off

I always like to spend more time in December and January crafting (partly because the weather is usually miserable), so here is my wishlist of things I'd like to progress in the next couple of months.

- top down raglan for DH
- february lady sweater (cardigan) for me
- something lacy (need to dig out pattern books from storage)
- Laurel Burch bountiful blessings quilt
- Laurel Burch Fanciful felines quilt
- Sewn suit (I have the pattern, need to choose fabric)

Otherwise, have been out in the wintry conditions we've had these past few days. On sunday DH and I climbed Ben Ledi in the snow which was beautiful with stunning views and a bitterly cold wind. We've also been out running, last night we ran about 8.5km along very icy pavements which was interesting. The other day we were caught out in a hailstorm which I found exhilarating ... DH didn't agree.

I'll post some pics of my projects in the next few days (have to charge camera battery). ... must dash.

2008-11-06T08:35:00.003+01:00

So here is a picture update

This is some handyed and spun merino. Its a sunset going from dark red to yellow and back through the skein. I haven't set the twist yet but have decided that its to become part of a scarf. I'm not sure how many yards there are but I have another 2 hanks of roving to spin if its required.

Here are the finished tam and mitts. These are amazingly warm and were worn lots in last weeks cold spell. The tam needs reblocked using a bigger dinner plate. Most of our plates are square which won't do!

Finished Rogue. She's been worn lots already, mostly because for a week or two she was my only winter sweater. DH likes her too. He's asked for one in black ... not sure that would do the celtic cables justice.

This is the lap quilt I was talking about last time. Its called syncopated rhythm. I just have to find the time ... no the patience to finish the mitred corners.

and a close up.

I recently bought a walking foot for my sewing machine and its proved fantastic. A walking foot replaces the normal sewing foot and feeds all three layers together at once thus preventing runkles in the bottom fabric.

Knitting wise I have the sunset scarf in progress and some cute and very pink baby things (knitted in vintage Templetons bri-nylon Quickerknit to a 1950's pattern).

I've got the knitting machine set up just now as I'm hoping to knit the tilted duster in 4ply. This pattern will involve me befriending the ribber. I've tried to use it unsucessfully a couple of times but see it as a challenge.

My next sewing project will either be a cover for the ribber or a Laurel Burch Fanciful feline quilt. I need to find the fabric for this (was packed a while back) so it'll probably be after we move.

I haven't forgotten about the contest. I've been collecting things for a while now including cashmere yarn, handspun silk/baby camel/wool, hand dyed roving, hand combed fleece and some dark chocolate. Watch this space for a little longer.

2008-10-29T08:45:00.002+01:00

So we found out last wednesday that our buyer couldn't sort out his finances and we're back at square one.

After a chat with a very pessimistic estate agent we were meant to have two people round to view last night. Only one of them turned up. We'll see what happens. On the up side the flat is now spotlessly tidy.

The last few weeks have been a complete emotional rollercoaster (mostly work related not moving) and I feel completely drained. To cheer myself up I made a lap quilt top on sunday as I couldn't find my knitting needles (found them now ... for some reason I'd put them in the bottom of the wardrobe) in bright and cheery batik colours. I'm charging up the camera just now so they're be some pictures. I suddenly realised last night that I've been quite productive with craft things these past few weeks but haven't posted about them.

2008-10-17T13:17:00.001+01:00

Move is postponed ... currently for a week ... we'll see what happens.

2008-10-15T07:42:00.002+01:00

Well all your good vibes did it ....

FOUND: 1 buyer

Got a call last night to say that the buyer had finally been in touch with his solicitor. The news wasn't great in that he's struggling to get his deposit. Apparently he has a meeting with the bank today where he'll find out if he can make his finances work. I feel uneasy about this but our solicitor and estate agent have both reassured us that this situation happens occassionally and usually works out OK in the end. Fingers and toes are crossed. We may have to delay by a week. Ho hum.

I have another very scary meeting this morning and then the pressure at work eases off for a while.

I finished the tam last night. Its blocking now after a frantic hunt to find a proper dinner plate (rather than the paper ones we've been using the past few days).

Its sad when you have a no knitting to hand! Must raid our storage unit for something from my stash ... anything will do!

2008-10-14T07:48:00.002+01:00

MISSING: the guy that's buying our house

REWARD: my sanity

AAARGH ..... everything is ready for the move (except defrosting the freezer and cleaning the bathroom) and we still have no definates.

The solicitor of the guy buying our house says everything is ready but he needs instruction from his client to sign the final piece of paper. Without this we can't buy our new place. On the purchasing side we finally saw some action last week, we received the qualified acceptance and land certificate. ... and good news that there is no restriction on keeping chickens, sheep or goats (my solicitors words, he doesn't know about my sheepie habits!)

Today was always going to be a really stressful day without this. Hopefully by the time my morning meeting finishes they will be some news ... anything will do ... I hate being in limbo.
Currently my gut instinct is going between its all going to be alright to its all fallen through.

Worst of all for my sanity is that knitting is getting rationed as I've nearly finished the tam. This is the last piece of knitting I wanted to finished before moving.

Rogue is finished as are the mittens and socks!

2008-09-30T08:15:00.003+01:00

Well a month has passed. Its been a really stressful time, mostly due to work. I love my work and in a lot of ways my job is a complete dream, until you factor in my boss. I've worked for her for a long time and for ages things were ok but in the last year at times she has been completely unreasonable.

In contrast I feel quite relaxed about the move, given that nothing official has been signed yet. The conclusion of our purchase was delayed by the sellers and the sale of our property is being delayed by the buyers solicitor. I guess this is a sign of the economic turmoil going on just now. Its a case of really bad timing ... I KNOW! Theoretically and hopefully the date for which everything will come together is the 17th october!!!

The biggest highlight of the last month was the arrival of a completely unexpected package from LUL. Look at the beautiful scarf she designed and knitted for me.

She's so talented. I wore it on friday as it was our 4th wedding anniversary and DH took me out for a lovely sophisticated meal.

I have been knitting like crazy these past few weeks. Its been a combination of necessity and a coping strategy. I realised a few weeks back that autumn had arrived and all my warm clothes were in storage. The only thing I had was a scruffy cardigan.

Here are some fair isle mitts (just need blocking and ends weaving in). These are the Weisdale mitt pattern and yarn from Jamieson and Smith.

Rogue (40 rows to go on the hood). This is made from 10 skeins of Debbie Bliss Maya that was lurking in my stash waiting for the right pattern.

I finished my Noro socks a while back and they were packed with my other handknitted socks almost immediately after their first wearing. I love the way they've turned out. They go perfectly with my purple doc martens.

I started knitting some socks from my latest batch of handyed yarn that I've called flower meadow. They're knitting up quickly given they are knee socks.

and here's an action shot of a 3/4 straight front somersault.

The past few weeks I've realised how much I value my knitting friends. In particular, LUL, Vonnie, Angela and Hannah (who's blogless). Vonnie and I have met up the last couple of sundays for gossip and knitting which has been great. Also a big thanks to Angela for her support these past few months and also for pointing me in the direction of Debenhams for a fitted suit.

The happy dance continues ...

2008-08-26T08:57:00.004+01:00

I have so much to talk about, its been a completely crazy week.

Shetland was fantastic.

Came back and guess what? ....

Yes we've sold the flat subject to concluded missives (should be sorted this week) and we've had an offer accepted on the house we'd fallen in love with. YIPEE! I love the Scottish property system (just not the estate agents!) it works so quickly and once the contract is binding that's it.

Our moving date has been set for mid october so there's a minor panic at the moment trying to get things sorted.

Shetland was amazing, the weather was perfect!

I cycled to Sumburgh ... the rabbit in the picture watched me eating my lunch.

I spent some time aroung Lerwick and was very excited to see the Whalsay (UK research boat) in the harbour. I'd read a lot about her when I studied an Open University oceanography course a few years ago. She's gorgeous.

I spent some time at Jamieson and Smith, Loose Ends (the Lerwick LYS and also apparently the biggest yarn store in Scotland ...well worth a visit ... the owner also runs the Shetland fudge shop over the road) and also the Lerwick museum. The textiles exhibition is very involving, I spent over 3 hours poring over just the lace and fair isle exhibits. There were some ladies from the WSD and I met Hazel Tindall (the world's fastest knitter) and I had a go at a traditional Shetland spinning wheel. I didn't buy much yarn but got the kit for the Weisdale tam and mittens. I've finished the mittens but the tam is taking forever on small needles.

I'd like to go back to Shetland with some more time to visit Yell and Unst. I'll wait until the new textile museum opens in Walls sometime next year. Anyone else fancy it?

I came home to find my vegetables (and the weeds) had put on a growth spurt in all the rain we've had these past few weeks. I've also found myself strangely attached to my vegetable patch and am dissappointed that I won't harvest the brussel sprouts or jerusalem artichokes before we move. The new place has a much larger south facing garden but is mostly gravel at the moment so will take some work to get vegetables next year. I've also mentioned chickens a few times to DH but we'll need to check the deeds to house if we're allowed to get some.

The weather forecast left me with a dilemma, to dye or not to dye. Last week the decision was made for me. I was nearly good to go when the estate agent phoned to say that the viewer from Monday wanted to come back for a second viewing (this is the person that then made us the offer). The forecast for saturday was poor but turned into an ok day after all so I was dissappointed I wasn't organised. I decided to go for it on sunday and it was a great day (I even got a bit sun burnt). I got around 20kg of yarn and roving dyed and its drying at the moment. I think I'll not be doing anymore until we're settled in the new place. There's so much from this batch that I think I won't be able to part with .... especially some purple sparkly laceweight. I'll take some more pictures once its all dry.

I haven't forgotten about the promised contest ... I guess lots of other things have distracted me. I did finally post my PIF gifts the week before last and am hoping they haven't got caught up in Canadian customs. I'm hoping my PIF pals like what I've made for them.

Shetland

2008-08-08T07:49:00.002+01:00

I'm doing a happy dance at the moment .... I'm sooo excited ....

I'm going to SHetland next thursday (YIPEE). I've wanted to go for ages and couldn't quite convince DH. I have a weeks holiday to take and he's going to stay at home and hopefully progress the flat sale. I'm taking the train from Glasgow to Aberdeen and then the overnight ferry to Lerwick. I've decided to take my bike with me unless the weather forecast is dire.

My plans are probably too numerous for the 3 days I have but I'd like to cycle to Sumburgh head to see the puffins and Jarlshof (pictish/viking site), to visit the Shetland museum and the textile museum, to visit Jamieson and Smith and also Muckle Flagga the lighthouse built by the Stevensons on Unst. I have to be back in Glasgow on the Monday so have the tues and weds free for dyeing (weather permitting).

This week has been a bit crazy at work, trying to get things finished before my time off and also my assistant is having two weeks off ... and there's a big meeting on 3rd Sept ....

The noro socks are progressing quickly and I've been spinning some really IMHO sexy yarn (black and purple) and also the yarn for the contest. The contest will be to name the theme for some different fibre/yarn, the best name wins. I'll post the pics once I've finished dyeing and combing some roving for it.

Project update

2008-07-31T07:43:00.002+01:00

I keep meaning to write about the smells of Glasgow. This is something I love about it. There is a brewery and distillery situated within 1 mile of the city centre. We get the most amazing smells both where I work and also when driving along the motorway or cycling through the park.
Yesterday the smell was of roasting barley (smells a bit like roasting coffee) and this morning a really malty smell a bit like Horlicks.

I nearly have the contest prize ready. I'm currently spinning it up, after washing, dyeing and combing the woolly part of it. The other part is baby camel and silk. Enough teasing!

PROJECT 1

The spinning wheel bag has quilted sides and a half finished bottom. I still need to dye the canvas side panels, but its coming along ok.

PROJECT 2

I've decided on yarn and a colour for the knitted suit. I was toying with amethyst or violet but thought they'd be quite full on, so I've gone for charcoal grey in Forsells 3ply superwash. Hopefully this will make a light fabric.

PROJECT 3

Noro socks ... am loving this ... nearly ready for the heel.

2008-07-29T08:05:00.003+01:00

Here are the fabric swatches for my spinning wheel cover. They're really bright and cheerful. I've made the two side panels and started piecing the base. I've still to dye the two canvas main panels. In the past I've found patchwork to be a real test of my patience (I'm quite a patient person .... believe me). However I've really enjoyed the few hours I've spent on this project so far.
So I bet you were wondering how long it would be before I started my Noro socks. I resisted until last night. I've decided to knit a variation on the sock pattern from the current spin off magazine. I'm loving the yarn and the colours.

I haven't made any progress on the knitted suit just yet. I'm still deciding on the weight and colour (which shade of purple) of yarn to use.

Finally ... here are the cats in a brief moment of proximity both staring at the magpies in the tree at the end of our garden. Kenny's on the left and Cocoa on the right ... in case the picture is confusing.

There's not been any further progress on the house sale front ... just yet.

But if you're feeling nosy and want to sneak a peek at the pictures from our flat have a look here
There are several fleeces just about concealed under our spare bed. And the wool stash for dyeing is in the 3 "bedside tables" in the main and spare bedroom. The estate agent did well not to get my wheel into any of the pics.

Cacti

2008-07-24T07:46:00.003+01:00

I'd like you to meet some of my cacti ....

These are all about 2-3 years old .....

and these are my babies (mixture of cacti and succulents)

These are all about 4-5 years old and include rats tails, epiphyllum, rebutia, mamillaria and echinocactus grusonii (mother-in-laws cushion!)

On the left hand side is my oil can (for my wheel), Alden Amos big book of handspinning and some catnip bubbles.

Some of my friends joke about my love of growing dangly plants is just so I can knit with them when they get long enough!

New Projects

2008-07-23T08:22:00.003+01:00

Kenny is a little in turmoil at the moment. He doesn't really understand what's going on with the whole moving process. So I let him have a little sleep on the spare bed (this is a big treat for him). He wasn't for showing his face. I think I might get some kitty pheromones (something my vet sister recommended) to calm him down. He's not getting on too well with Cocoa either and prefers to stay out most of the time. .... sigh

I have several biggish projects planned for the next few months (note I'm thinking it might take a while to sell the flat the way the housing market is now) ... BTW we changed agents and the new ones (Allen and Harris) put up the for sale sign on sunday (it was a public holiday weekend here!) ... impressive!

PROJECT 1

A spinning wheel cover that converts into a carry bag for Kraska (my wheel). I plan to sew/quilt it and was playing with some Ambigrams for the text (Ambigrams read the same both ways up)

Like this one that was designed by the trampoline club captain Jonathen

Here's my wheel. Its going to be a big cover/bag and a big challenge!

See the bobbins on the lazy kate, they're hand dyed and combed cheviot that I need to ply.

PROJECT 2

This involved an unplanned trip to Mandors. This is a fabulous fabric shop in Glasgow.

Where I found this pattern ...
to make a knitted suit on the knitting machine and the lacy bits as handknitting. There's a knitting machine guru here called Pat who has encouraged me to get a sewing pattern for a fitted suit that recommends crepe or wool fabric and then to knit the pieces required. I hope to blog about this process in detail as there isn't much info out there ...

Finally I spent last night listing loads of aran and sock wool on etsy. This process seemed to take forever. OOH and there's are two large buckets full of cotton, bamboo and soy silk roving etc dyeing in my bath at the moment. I'm hoping for bright jewel colours, but I'm experimenting with a new dyeing method so we'll see.

Thank you!!!

2008-07-22T20:32:00.004+01:00

Thank you all for the hugs and good vibes, they've arrived loud and clear and are very much appreciated.

I'd also like to say a HUGE thank you to my dear friend Lene for the wonderful birthday surprise she sent me. She's a great mind reader, she know's about my love-affair with anything Noro, but she didn't know I was desparately trying to chase down some Noro sock yarn in a purpley blue colourway.

Isn't it gorgeous! I'm looking for the perfect pattern ...

She also sent me the most yummy homemade strawberry jam. I'm guessing the strawberries were from her garden, and I'm hoping she'll let me have the receipe. WOW!!!!

Here are the promised pics ....

The finished Hap shawl, now renamed a Shetland baby shawl because it isn't a true hap, the yarn wasn't well suited to it. It's now on its way to my SIL and baby Emily in Turkey.

The cropped cardie (unblocked) made from Debbie Bliss Stella. I've blocked it now and it looks SO much better.

The nearly finished harf loosely based on the pattern from Intertwined, made from my handspun yarn (2 different combed blends I made myself).

and a close up ...

House moving- estate agent woes

2008-07-17T08:26:00.002+01:00

Well we instructed our agent (Slater HH ... anyone in Glasgow should be able to work out who it is) on Monday. A women and a guy came round to take pictures and measure up. They promised us to be on the market within 24 hours, a for sale board by wednesday and send they'd send a draft PDF of the schedule by last night.

Here we are on thursday morning and they're about to get sacked. (I am very disappointed as fickle as I am fancied having a purple for sale sign) There are many reasons for this:

1. Not on market

2. No for sale sign

3. The draft schedule they sent was a joke. There were no pictures and the English was hilarious (for example "Bathroom with three piece suite, wc, wash hand basin, bath and two double bedrooms" .... does anyone know of a house that has 2 double bedrooms in their bathroom? .... or "turn left into Rodger Drive, proceed to the end taking left and right into Kings Park Avenue" ... wouldn't want my viewers getting dizzy going round in circles outside the Kings Park Hotel!

4. They asked me to re-write the schedule if I was unhappy with it.

5. After phoning their office 4 times and visiting in person 3 times they still don't know who we are. Yesterday the same girl asked me for my mobile number each of the 3 times I phoned even though they were only about 5 mins apart.

6. They keep addressing me as Miss X even though I have always been in with DH and always talk as we. I don't mind if they call me Mrs even though on their records I'm Dr. Oh and why did they demand a complicated explanation as to why I kept my maiden name .... grr (rant over). They haven't demanded the marriage licence just yet ... but that's a rant for another day.

6. Their office staff didn't seem to have any confidence in their ability to sell our flat. They keep apologising for the market etc.

7. Communication ... they keep saying oh we'll phone you back in 5 mins and never do!

Anyone feel like a virtual hug!

Have been to busy these last few nights to take pictures of the cropped cardie and half. I finished the cardie at knit group on tuesday evening and am just weaving in the last few ends.

I'm not sure if I mentioned I got 13 balls of DB Cathay in the John Lewis sale a few weeks back. Well I started knitting with it and realised that it had been completely and inconsistantly overplyed. I tried to get something useful from designer yarns (the distributor) to no avail. Ended up taking the 12 complete and 1 partially knitted ball back and John Lewis swapped them for me for some DB Stella. Fantastic service!

For Sale

2008-07-15T07:45:00.002+01:00

Well our flat is now officially for sale. It seems like we're only just beginning but that we've been at it forever. It also feels scary given the current economic situation and also we don't have anywhere to move to if we do get an offer. Currently knitting (and a bit of spinning) are keeping me calm. I have a few things to show ... tomorrow.

We've been looking at houses and I thought it would be fun to write a little about each one from a fibrey point of view, especially as each one has been totally different from the one before.

HOUSE 1 - Cottage set in 1/4 acre of land. It had 2 outbuildings which had hot/cold water and electricity (perfect for dyeing). It was in a rural setting with sheep in the field behind. The house needed quite a bit of work (which would be fun) but would probably need extending in the longer term as it was on the small side. This is currently on the short list.

HOUSE 2 - 1960's property, large gardens. nice size. Needs some work but this could be done slowly over a few years. We both liked this one, except that it was on a busyish residential street rather than away from it all and that it lacked a fibre room for me. I guess it has potential for an outhouse or two in the gardens. This has been our favourite so far. Its also for sale by an elderly couple who had lived there since it was built. I like that. This is also on the shortlist.

HOUSE 3 - 19th century traditional cottage set in large garden (jungle). This was a bit of a pipe dream. It was gorgeous with lots of original features, but would need new plumbing and re-wiring the day we moved in. There was some damp but that may be due to breach of the DPC. There were two huge attic rooms with great natural light, one of which would be perfect for me. Unfortunately DH thinks this is too much work and additional cost ... he's probably right.

HOUSE 4 - this was a modern detached bungalow and felt too perfect for both of us. I think we realised that we're looking for a quirky property with a slightly unpredictable layout and something with character.

We have some more viewings organised for later this week but I guess we'll have to keep our fingers crossed that we get a buyer for our flat soon.

HOUSE MOVE week 4

2008-07-04T08:45:00.002+01:00

Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning ... with a dash of tidying and a splash of new paint.

We've got 4 estate agents coming to value the flat next tues/weds. I'm quite apprehensive because at the moment I can only see the negative points they might pick up on.

We've got another weekend of hard slog planned and then there will hopefully be more time for spinning, dyeing and knitting.

I've started a summer top in Debbie Bliss Cathay, as I ran out of yarn for the harf and need to spin some more.

Colorimetry

2008-07-03T08:19:00.002+01:00

Colorimetry (my Etsy store) is now live. I'd love you comments.

I chose colorimetry partly because it means the quantitative study of colour perception and I love colour.

Its a scientific word, its similiar to calorimetry (which I'm supposedly an expert in ... or so my boss thinks).

Quick Update

2008-07-02T08:00:00.002+01:00

The hap is finished. Its more of an abbreviated hap than a proper hap but it's fine as a baby shawl ... although it'll probably be too warm for my niece as she's in Turkey. I'm so glad to finish it as its been lurking for quite a while.

I've been working on a harf (hat and scarf combo) using some handspun. I've nearly finished the hat part but will need to spin some more before I can do the scarf.

I promise pics later this week.

2008-06-30T08:28:00.002+01:00

Friday was Woolfest. Followed by hunting for a wedding present for the wedding that was on Saturday (nothing like leaving it to the last minute). Then a quick trip to Keswick to buy some supplies for dinner. I was with one of my good friends (H). I thought we'd camp at a quite farm and one of my favourite places in the Lakes (Gatesgarth Farm between Honister and Buttermere). It was absolutely lashing with rain and wind and the drive over was pretty grim. Anyway managed to get the tent pitched and while we were getting organised noticed the tax disc was missing from the car! (I forgot to mention last week that on Monday we woke up to find our car window broken). To report this to the police we had to drive for 30mins before I got phone reception but the guys at Strathclyde Police were fab.

We had a lovely evening in the tent (the rain had eased by now), which included counting and sorting the massive bag of assorted buttons that H had bought at Woolfest.

The next day involved getting washed and dressed for the wedding. This was quite a challenge in a muddy field with only a very hot or freezing cold tap. I'm sure a few people had a laugh at our expense especially when we had to leave the field via the farm (and 5 gates that needed to be opened and closed). We HAD to stop in Penrith, to pick up a form for a duplicate car tax disc and some Persil aloe vera washing up liquid (absolutely the best thing we have in the UK for fleece washing). Then we realised we were kind of running a bit late for the wedding (held near Preston) but managed to arrive seconds before the bride. It was a great to see my friends Amanda and Andrew looking so radiantly happy.

We left the wedding after the meal as three of us had to be back in Glasgow on sunday morning for various reasons. The drive back was uneventful although it seemed to take forever. Arrived at home at 1am, changed into my pyjama's and started painting some of the woodwork in the flat. (I'd worked out it was the only way I could get 2 coats of gloss paint on before monday morning). After a sleepless night because the cats were completely bonkers chasing around the place. I got up at 6.30am for more painting, then back to sleep for a couple of hours. Then began a mammouth fleece washing and flat cleaning expedition for most of the day. By 10pm I was completely shattered. Then Gordon arrived from a wet weekend's hillwalking in Knoydart and dumped his wet muddy kit in the nice clean spare room .... sigh!

I feel like I've come to work today for a rest!

Purplejen went to Woolfest and bought a ...

2008-06-30T08:15:00.002+01:00

Fleece

0.5Kg Soay Fleece
0.5Kg Boreray Fleece
1.5Kg Manx Laughton Fleece
2Kg Castlemilk Moorit Fleece
2.5Kg North Ronaldsay Fleece
4Kg Merino/Shetland/Leicester cross

Roving

Green purple batt from the yarn yard
Peacock roving
Dark Purple roving and some mill samples from Wingham

a gorgeous WPI gauge
a Madder plant
some vintage patterns

2008-06-26T07:55:00.001+01:00

Congratulations go to my brother and sister-in-law on the birth of baby Emily.

Oh and the hap shawl has come out of hiding ...

2008-06-24T07:54:00.003+01:00

OPERATION HOUSE MOVE WEEK 3

This week saw the start of our rental agreement with the storage company. We've moved alot of things into storage which has worked really smoothly so far. I've begun cleaning the house and our bedroom is now spotless ... it seemed to take forever.

Here's Kenny posing in a box that says "without L-glutamine" on it. I think he thought we were going to pack him into storage too!

I'm heading to Woolfest on friday and then to A and A's wedding near Preston. I'm hoping to get some interesting fleece and other goodies ... watch this space!

I've been spinning A LOT recently. It really helps keep me calm and centred when there's so much going on around. I have 4 full bobbins ready for plying. Two are of the multicoloured silk hankies I dyed a few weeks back and two of hand dyed and combed cheviot fleece from 2007 shearing. I've also toyed with making some novelty yarn after buying the book Intertwined by Pluckyfluff. Unfortunately trying to spin paper shreddings was hugely unsuccessful as both cats wanted a big part of the action.

Silk hankies bobbin 1

Here is some gradient dyed Shetland wool. I've planned that is self striping, I think I'll use it for a mock fairisle project ... maybe

Finally to my PIF pals ... I haven't posted your parcels yet (Vonnie I'll bring yours to knit group) due to the mayhem ... but I haven't forgotten.

Also watch this space for a contest ... coming very soon.

2008-06-13T07:51:00.002+01:00

OPERATION HOUSE MOVE WEEK 2

This has been a really busy week, last weekend we spent finishing a few jobs around the house. We have a new garden gate, a tidy garden, painted stairwell and nearly finished the dividing wall in our loft. We've also started packing and realised how many books we own. So far I've packed up 16 boxes of non-fiction ones. Our new bed arrived yesterday and it was simple to assemble given the complete lack of any instructions apart from a picture of how the finished version should look.

Knittingwise I'm currently stressing over a lace edging that has to be finished by 5pm tonight ... and I'm going through to Edinburgh today with work so its unlikely I'll get any time to work on it. Its for a present for my friends S and T who get married tomorrow. The wedding is being held somewhere near Peebles, let's hope it doesn't rain.

Oh and finally my Ravelry badges came yesterday ... YIPEE.

2008-06-05T08:12:00.003+01:00

I spent saturday dyeing, about 5kg of yarn and roving. I like most of it and adore a couple of hanks that will become something special. I haven't taken any pics just yet as it started to rain and I had to rush to get it all inside. I've finished rewinding the mega hanks, which turned into a mammouth task due to a huge fankle.

I took my spinning wheel out to knit group this week and started spinning up some mawata squares (silk hankies) that I'd dyed up. The colours are bright jewel tones and they look amazing on the bobbin.

In other news we finally got a message from Artisan Furniture that our new bed had arrived. This was ordered on 2nd January and we were told it would take 8-12 weeks. Last week I threatened them with trading standards if our bed didn't arrive this week. Hey presto! Now we need to find out when they can actually deliver it. We've only had 23 weeks of our current bed (bought from a certain Swedish furniture chain) collapsing every time one of us rolled over in bed. The novelty has certainly worn off.

This is also week 1 of OPERATION HOUSE MOVE. The time has come for us to move on from our cottage flat to a proper house (I'm very excited about this). Our plan is to get our flat onto the market in the next 2-3 weeks and then start looking for somewhere to move to. So this week has involoved painting the upper part of our hallway, scavenging for cardboard boxes and finally a meeting with the bank to agree how much money we can borrow for the next mortgage.

2008-05-30T07:40:00.002+01:00

Had a great time catching up with my sister and her family, and also with friends in Sheffield. DH was great on Mastermind, I'll let you know when its showing (sometime in the Autumn) so you can see if you'd beat him!

I've got another day of dyeing planned for tomorrow although I haven't quite finished reskeining the yarn from last time. Some of my hanks were 100ft in length and they take an evening to rewing into smaller hanks. Lets hope it doesn't rain!

2008-05-22T07:32:00.003+01:00

Having a bit of a nightmare at work, they're knocking down the building next to mine and its generating A LOT of dust, noise and vibration as well as false fire alarms and power cuts. They've promised it'll be finished this week, I'll believe it when I see it.

.... but I've been working hard on reskeining the mega skeins I dyed last weekend. Last night I managed one 500g, 100ft skein which turned into a bit of a fankle and although I was very tempted to throw the lot in the bin, I finished it without a single bit wasted ... shame it took all night!

I haven't time this weekend for more dyeing as we're heading south for a few days, to see some friends, my sister and then DH is participating in the TV quiz show Mastermind. The filming takes place on tuesday evening in Manchester. The show is made up of two rounds, a specialist subject followed by general knowledge. His specialist subject is the Munro's (mountains of Scotland that are over 3000ft high). I'll let you know when its being screened ...

2008-05-19T07:54:00.002+01:00

I just had a great weekend playing with colour. I spent all day saturday dyeing some my dyeing stash. So far I've dyed 7kg ... mostly pencil roving and some mega skeins (80ft long!). The only problem I have is that I want to keep it all ... but I know what BHE will say to that. Still I might pick out a few things I really like. It also gives me more colour ideas for the next batch.

This was one side of my washing line yesterday ...

and this another ...
This is some of the pencil roving (some merino ones and some Swaledale)

and again ...
Finally here is the pics I promised last week of my handspun. The left skein has a small amount of angelina thru it so it has a slight sparkle. They are all for ongoing projects
I guess I'm going to be spending the next week or so re-skeining these mega hanks. Oh and btw remember a while back I talked about making self striping yarn by a different method ... well I tried it, it worked but no pictures yet as its still drying.

2008-05-14T08:00:00.002+01:00

There will be some more pics ...

Since I've got back life has been stressful. There are certain things that I went on holiday to forget about and hoping they would have miraculously solved themselves while I've been away. Unfortunately I think the sunshine must have gone to my head and it all turned into a case of wishful thinking. ... but I'm working on it.

I've been spinning ... lots. (pics tomorrow)

I finished my New Lanark cardigan (although DH thinks its more of a housecoat as its a little on the long side).

I'm also getting organised for the first big batch of dyeing of the year. I have around 25kg of wool, silk and cotton to dye. Some of it is for personal use and as gifts (and a competition here), but most of it will be sold by several of my good friends to raise money for Charity. (I've sold a little at craft fairs around Glasgow, but have been persuaded to open an etsy shop ... watch this space). Anyway, the dyes have been ordered, formulae calculated and mega skeins wound. Now we just need a few days of sunshine when I'm not working on the day job.

2008-05-14T07:52:00.002+01:00

Hmm that's interesting so that one posted ok ...

woven patterns from desert Bedoin camp

sunrise from summit of Mount Sinai (in Egypt)
Al-deir (the monastry) at Petra
Byzantine mosaic at Madaba

2008-05-14T07:50:00.003+01:00

Blogger doesn't like my pictures (sob sob) ... spent ages writing a post with our holiday pics in and now it says HTML tag cannot be accepted ....grrr.

I'll have one last attempt with one pic ... dead sea knitting. I'm sure you've seen the classic dead sea pose, sunhat and newspaper. Well I present sunhat and knitting!

... although the salinity seems to have affected the coating on my knitpicks ... but it was amazing fun and really weird at the same time

2008-05-08T07:47:00.002+01:00

I know I haven't forgotten.

Its just turned into one of those weeks I'd rather forget. ... and the camera is still firmly in DH's clutches.

I've managed some knitting and a reasonable amount of spinning since we've got back which has felt like a great big warm hug. Just getting organised for the first batch of dyeing this summer.

2008-05-04T14:28:00.002+01:00

Well I've arrived back safely but with amoebic dysentry (lovely!!) and I had to work on friday which turned into a nightmare.

Had a fantastic trip, I promise to talk lots about it and post some pics when my DH finally lets me have the camera!

Will write more next week when things have settled down here. Just logged on to catch up with all the exciting knitterly things that have happened in blogland while I've been away.

2008-04-19T18:51:00.001+01:00

Just a quick post from a very SLOW internet connection in Madaba. Having a fantastic time, managed to knit in the dead sea ... an amazing experience.

Anyway I logged on to email for the first time since we left the UK and have finally got the good news I've been hoping for ...

WE'VE GOT THE GRANT!!!!!! WHAHEY!!!!

2008-04-11T08:03:00.002+01:00

Today I wave goodbye to all my online friends. I'm off on holiday (trekking in Jordan) and it is unlikely that I'll have internet access until we return. So I'll be back on 2nd May and I promise a picture of knitting in the Dead Sea.

I have't got much done this week, its been busy trying to finish things at work before I head off.

My holiday projects include:

Knitty's BMP (space invaders) - socks in black and white Regia.

2 lacy PIF gifts that I've started and not finished (tut tut). BTW I'm hoping to post to my PIF pals sometime in mid may-early June.

HAPPY KNITTING TILL I RETURN

Pictures

2008-04-03T08:24:00.004+01:00

This was Easter weekend ... 10 mins later we turned back due to blizzard conditions and deep snow.Extreme knitting rug ... fits well under the spinning wheel but has been adopted by the cats as a magic carpet. One of them (usually Cocoa sits on it, then Kenny launches himself at her, the rug and both cats go flying across the room). Extreme knitting is fun but also quite tiring on the arms and difficult to do continental style.

and a close up ... Wollmeise socks (deliberately slightly odd!) ... honest

Baby boy dungarees ...

and from the back ...notice the twisted strap that I had to unpick and un-twist! ... and Cocoa's tail (she was getting jealous that I wasn't taking pictures of her!

Baby boy jumper in Sirdar bamboo (still to finish the neck). I need to decide whether to get another ball of yarn to finish off in the cream colour or use some of the mint green that I have left over.Finally I was going to show you my Froelich wolle blauband sock (seen in purple/pink here) and my regia socks, but a Cocoa said it was high time that she got some attention and a picture.

2008-04-02T12:21:00.002+01:00

So I was in a bad mood this morning after being very rudely and abruptly awakened (grr). I forgot most of the things I meant to pick up for work, including the camera but remembered to pick up the cable (doh!). Anyway feeling much better after quite a productive morning.

I finished seaming 2 pairs of socks last night and joined the second shoulder seam on my New Lanark cardie. I also ripped out most of the light pink on the girls dungarees and began adapting them so they are similiar to the boys ones I've just finished. There should be pics tomorrow assuming the cats have reached a ceasefire in their battle before bedtime tonight.

2008-04-01T09:25:00.002+01:00

Its been a bit of a funny week here. Its been busy, but had a few really low points which have caused me to hit my self- destruct button. Anyway its all better now although I still haven't heard any news about the grant. We were meant to hear the outcome on friday but the decision has been delayed by at least 2 weeks. As it stands I go away on holiday on the 14th April and my not have a job to come back too. Scary stuff eh?

Knitting has been mostly starting things without much finishing going on. Pictures tomorrow (i promise)

1. Made a pair of baby boy dungarees using a slightly different pattern from the pink girls ones. They're size 6-9 months made from Sirdar snuggly and finished with the cutest wee buttons.

2. Extreme knitting rug is finished

3. On a bit of a machine knitting sock kick. Have nearly finished 5 pairs, just seaming most of them. My favourites for colour are some Wollmeise ones and for fit some made from Swiss Blauband sock yarn (the kind which comes with a bobbin of thinner wool for knitting into the heels and darning).

4. Knitted a baby boy jumper from Sirdar Bamboo which is gorgeous (if I may say so myself) but I'd forgotten how many ends there are to weave in when knitting stripes. Just needs a collar.

5. The freedom spirit jumper ... ahem ... I finished the bottom ribbing on Saturday. Then went to the gym and it was raining and cold and I only had a t shirt on so decided to wear the unfinished jumper (still needs cuffs ribbing and the neckline needs finishing) and I realised how well it fits and how cosy it is. So I didn't take it off for the rest of the day (have you ever done that?). Because I've worn it part of me has forgotten that its not finished.

6. New Lanark Iris cardigan - I've knitted all the parts for this and started seaming.

I'm really enjoying learning to use the knitting machine. This week my acheivements were to learn to cast off behind the sinker posts and knit socks toe up. I also tried seaming using the machine by placing the edge stitches from the pieces to be joined onto the machine (right sides together) so that there are 2 stitches on each needle one from each side of the seam. Then manually knitting one row (not using the carriage) then knitting 1 row with carriage and then casting off. This gives a reasonably flat seam that holds its structure. Finally can we all send some positve machine knitting vibes to Della. THANKS!!!

2008-03-26T09:56:00.002+01:00

We went away camping in the cold snowy north for a few days over Easter. It was great to get away but a shame about the blizzard conditions we experienced while attempting to hillwalk. Anyway on return to civilisation we received exciting news of 2 babies, congratulations to K and P and to my student J and his wife.

2008-03-19T16:57:00.002+01:00

One of my students just came to see me but was so nervous it took him 10 mins to explain that his wife was in labour and he would have to cancel a meeting we'd arranged. ... so the first of the 2008 babies is on it way. How exciting!!!! Must finish baby knitting this weekend.

2008-03-19T10:22:00.002+01:00

I'm sure the reason I'm a scientist, knitter, dyer, spinner etc is because I love playing with colour. That is also why I can't resist buying certain yarn and stashing it.

This is a pretty picture don't you think?

So this is where the day job meets my fiber addiction. The picture shows the neutron scatter pattern of an emulsion. I want to recreate these colour combinations as a hand dye/spun project. My challenge for dyeing this spring is to recreate colour sequences I see in ordinary life and nature, particulary some of the crazy one's I've seen in polarizing microscopy.

Eureka!!!

2008-03-19T09:59:00.003+01:00

I've just had one of those eureka moments ...I've thought of a very easy way (I think) to dye yarn with very long colour repeats ... will try it first then I'll spill .... watch this space.

Last night I began organising my stash as it has to reduce greatly in size before we move (hopefully) later on in the summer. I have been collecting purple yarn for a while now and was inspired by a demo at the SECC show to try my hand at extreme knitting. So I wound 20 Balls of chunky- aran weight yarn and cast on 28 Stitches on 15mm needles using 20 strands held together. This was the maximum width I could manage on my standard pair of 15mm needles and will be wide enough to make a rug for my spinning wheel, to stop it walking over the floor. I've knitted 15 rows so far and its looking good and the fabric is a substantial thickness and weight. I should get it finished this weekend and then I'll show pics.

In case you thought I'd started another thing without finishing the gazillion WIP's I showed yesterday. I finished the magiknit baby jumper and the knitted kimono with 2cm of yarn to spare last night. I'll block these tonight.

PICTURE UPDATE

2008-03-18T09:14:00.003+01:00

FINALLY!!!! Some things to show from the last month. Just to prove that I HAVE been knitting in between the busyness.

1. Socks in Socka Fortissima Cactus colourway. I knit these on the knitting machine and it was reasonably straightforward and they fit as well as any other pair of handknit socks. I love the way the colours have turned out even though there isn't a drop of purple in sight.

2. Baby jumper knitted from James Brett Magiknit. Still to weave in a couple of ends and blanket stitch round the bottom and neckline.

3. Toddler jumper knitter from Jaegar baby Merino (pale blue) and my own hand dyed New Lanark wool in Lochs and Glens Colourway. Still need to knit the neckline and bottom ribbing. This was machine knit.

4. Kimono, made from Artesano Hummingbird. Managed to cast of the front band in the car this morning. Still to edge cuffs. I'm really pleased with the fit of this. Machine/hand knit.

5. Sideways knit sweater in Twilleys freedom spirit DK, pattern from the Twisted sister sweater book. Machine knit. Still need seaming, and handknit neck and bottom bands.

6. Baby dungarees. Need blocking then straps sewn on ... and I have the cutest buttons. Machine and handknit. Debbie Bliss Alpaca silk.

7. Spinning. Here are two skeins both are part merino part soy silk.

8. SSS -Here's a teaser of the whole thing, the final clue is released today ....

Have you seen the new Knitty?

2008-03-14T14:18:00.002+01:00

I saw that the new Spring Knitty was up the other day. Two patterns caught my eye as must knits. Have a guess?

Hum ... Not sure which one to knit first. Probably Posey followed by Lace ribbon.

This has thrown my knitting plans from earlier in the week into turmoil. I'll raid the stash, but am tempted to dye some sock yarn. Roll on some warmer drier weather.

Seaming!!!

2008-03-12T09:09:00.003+01:00

I suck at seaming .... there you have it.

I was hoping to show you my finished knitted kimono in the lovely Artesano hummingbird that my MIL gave me for Christmas, but I managed to sew on one sleeve in completely the wrong place and am in the middle of ripping out the correct seem after undoing the sleeve seam rather than sleeve to body one ... DOH!

This disaster comes after many previous ones so I really should have known to take more care ... the funniest and most tragic one was a knitted teddy bear where I sewed on a leg instead of it muzzle .... ooops!

I currently feel like I want to be knitting but haven't got anything easy to pick up. I've had a look around ravelry and have some ideas. Now to raid the stash!

I need some time ...

2008-03-10T08:49:00.003+01:00

After a brilliant but really busy weekend I feel like I need some time just to sit back and think of all the wonderful people I've met and digest properly everything thats been going on.

Instead I've got a really busy day at work today mainly doing rheology runs which need changed every 6 minutes, then trampoline coaching tonight and I half said I'd join DH for his pub quiz as well .... sigh!

The weekend was fab. I volunteered at the SECC Creative stitches show on friday and sunday. It was great to meet up with so many Ravellers and many other familiar faces. A big thank you goes to Yvonne for organising the knit and natter and for having me back.

On Saturday my wheel and I went on tour to Carluke to do a spinning demo. This was fun and very rewarding especially the number of husbands and little boys that were really interested in finding out how a spinning wheel works. One 5 year old said he was going home to try and make one out of lego.

On Saturday afternoon I rushed home (3.20pm), changed, had lunch (at 3.30pm) and caught the 3.50pm train into town to join DH to watch the second half of the rugby. Celebrations were in order and we ended up staying out much later than planned, although we finally managed to compile a shortlist of where we might like to go on holiday next month (we came up with Jordan or Morocco).

I have some FO's to show including a machine knit pair of socks. I'll post pics hopefully tomorrow or wednesday.

Finally my wheel and I are going to take a trip to the T'chai Ovna in Shawlands tomorrow night for a come and spin night. Anyone is welcome either in person or in spirit.

Anyone got any ideas on how to make blogger format paragraphs ... these blocks of text are driving me nuts!

The reality of playing withneutrons

2008-03-05T19:38:00.005+01:00

Did I happen to mention knitting and slack time in my last post? Here is an idea of how the last 7 days have been for me.

WEDS 27th Feb - Start work at 7.15am, work through until 5pm without taking a lunch break. Rushed home grabbed some food and rushed to get the 6.50pm train back into town. At 7.05pm the train is cancelled and I have to coach trampolining at 7.30pm. I can't be late as I had a go at everyone at the previous session for poor timekeeping. I ran the 3 miles to the sports centre in 27 minutes. Then coached trampoling until 10pm. One of my pupils failed to rotate a tuck back somersault correctly and I had to turn her over so that she (thankfully) didn't land on her head. Went home had a shower and straight to bed.

THURS 28th Feb - Get up 6.30am. Leave the house at 7.00am. Drive to pick up H and my boss Prof J. Drive to the Rutherford lab near Oxford (8 hours including 2 stops for the toilet and lunch). Arrive, unpack the car, fill out paperwork etc. 6pm have dinner yummy pasta bake. 7pm til midnight work in lab preparing samples and cleaning sample holders for the next day. 1am to bed.

FRI 29th Feb - Get up at 6am. Go over some papers and experimental plan. 7.30am breakfast. 8am into lab. Begin to stress at the amount of work to be done. Work like crazy. 1pm lunch vegetarian option pasta bake. 1.45pm back to lab work like crazy. 4pm panic as beam goes off (this happens periodically and means that all experiments stop). 5pm beam back on. 6pm dinner once again pasta bake this time there is some thyme sprinkled on top to make it different from lunch. 7pm back into lab. Huge panic (including some tears on my part as I felt someone had been a little unreasonablr in their expectations). Midnight - put the ovenight run on. Then had to prepare samples for Saturday morning run as each sample took 1 hour to prepare but only ran for 25mins on the instrument. Finally finished at 2.30am.

Sat 1st March - Went to be 2.50am. Got up at 5.30am, in lab for 5.50 am. Begin sample preparation and writing some things down before I forgot them. 6.50am took 5 mins to admire a beautiful sunrise. I missed breakfast but H kindly brought me a food and tea rescue package. Everyone was feeling tired at this point and there were some fraught moments and some more tears on my part (I was really embarrassed as I don't make a habit of this especially at work) but I couldn't find the words to tell someone thay were being very unreasonable. 1pm lunch pasta bake this time with some added Quorn. Worked through preparing more samples for our evening run. 6pm dinner once again pasta bake again with Quorn, this time very dried out as it seemed to be reheated from lunchtime. After dinner I was involved in changing some of our sample racks which was fine except it meant aligning a laser beam through a 7mm hole with no tolerance and only being able to do it from a squint angle. I had been wearing my contact lenses for a ridiculous number of hours and was seeing big halos round everything so this task was impossible. Eventually we had to call in some assistance. Then the beam went off. Midnight the beam was still off, it sounded like something was seriously faulty. 1am beam still off took lense out and put on my glasses that I never wear in public. 2am, 3am, 4am beam still off (went and changed into my pjama's) . No sign of bed yet or when beam will be up and running. Finally at 4.30am ish it came back on.

Sun 2nd March - 5am bed. 6.am get up. Back in lab at 6.30am to change the computer code as the run was going to overrun by 6 hours which we didn't have. 8.55am breakfast. 11.30am all runs finished. At this point I couldn't string words together to make a sentence or walk without drifting to the left. 12.30 lunch feta and olive quiche ... Hooray!!!!! Spent the afternoon analysing some of the data. 6.15pm dinner pasta bake (yawn). 7.30pm relax, played a game of pool with H which must have looked like we were drunk as neither of us could take a shot without staggering about. 8.30pm Suddenly feel on a complete high, I realised how everything had worked out better than expected (probably some of this euphoria was due to the excess caffeine and sugar that had kept me going these past few days) 9pm knitting ... it took me over 1 hour to cast off 60 stitches. 10pm bed

Mon 3rd March - 6.50am get up, shower. 7.30am breakfast. 8.15am leave and begin long drive back to Glasgow. 3.30pm arrive back at work, drop off H, Prof J and the equipment. Met DH for a coffee, the 6pm more trampoline coaching, again someone managed to hurt themselves but not badly and it couldn't have been prevented (rotator cuff injury while in mid air). 8.30pm arrive home, sit down with cup of tea. 9pm get changed and leave the house to join DH and his pub quiz team. 11pm win the quiz. 11.30pm bed.

Tues 4th March - Wake up at 6.30am panicking about missing samples. Never mind. Get up, fall asleep on floor. Get up get a glass of water. Fall asleep again. 1pm go for walk in sunshine. Fall asleep on park bench for 2 hours. Slowly walk home. Fall asleep again.

Weds 5th March - Wake up 6.30am. Get up and start analysing data 7.15am. Decide to work from home as still feeling tired. And now I'm heading off to coach some more trampolining.

I'm volunteering at a knitting show that's on at the SECC this weekend on friday and sunday. I can't wait to sit and knit properly it feels like its been ages ...

2008-02-26T09:45:00.002+01:00

I'm officially in hiding until next wednesday ... the last week has been crazy at work and I'm going away to do some neutron scattering until next wednesday. Its going to be one of those times where you lose track of whether its day or night and which day it is ... but all in the name of science.

I was naughty yesterday, I ordered 1 skein of Artesano Hummingbird to finish a project that I'd started ... watch this space.

I'm taking a few things with my on my travels just in case we get some slack time, mostly finishing and seaming some WIP's so they'll definately be photos next week.

2008-02-18T09:31:00.004+01:00

Quick update ... pics tomorrow.

1. Knitting machine - thoroughly cleaned, oiled and ready to go. Knitted a hem and a bit of a sampler, increasing and decreasing stitches. I'm glad to report there were no dropped stitches and she works much more smoothly now she's clean. The first time I tried the knitted hem, all my stitches fell off and I was really fed up ... but then I realised I hadn't been following the instructions exactly and tried again.

2. Spinning - I've spun 150g of singles, in three different blends of colours. I started spinning a fourth one which I've called dragonfly and is my favourite of all, its mostly blues and turquoise with a little pink and some angelina (iridescent and sparkle).

3 Knitting - working on PIF gift ... unfortunately had to rip 5 rows which took forever in KSH.

4. Stash - remember how I'd said I'd been so good and not bought a single ball of wool? Well that's still true but my stash has grown exponentially, thanks to a lady (who is akin to my surrogate granny) I met who wanted to give me her stash and patterns as she's unable to knit any more. I collected two car loads full and apparently she has lots more! Dh wasn't too happy when he saw ~30kg of yarn and hundreds of vintage patterns in the hallway of our flat. I've been going through it slowly, there's ~20kg of mohair. The pattern's are amazing although I'm sure a few resulted in some traumatized children (I'm sure you can imagine), these a mostly 1935 - 1970. I've started sorting them, as there are quite a few I'd like to knit.

We went to the Theatre Royal in Glasgow on saturday to see the fantastic production of the play Equus, which I'd highly recommend if you get the chance to see it.

(blogger and paragraphs is playing up again ...)

2008-02-14T09:34:00.002+01:00

here is the test knitters version of SSS up to clue 7 ish ...

My challenge for this weekend is to spring clean the knitting machine as recommended in Machine Maintenance by Patricia Coulston. Watch this space.

2008-02-13T09:34:00.003+01:00

I've been knitting swatches with my handspun. I thought I'd share 2 hints with you on how to choose the appropriate needle size. (btw this also works for commercially bought yarn where the ballband has gone awol)

1. A quick method (preferably requires a needle gauge) - Double the yarn, gently twist it together to simulate a 2 ply. Choose a needle that's the same thickness as the doubled yarn. I usually use a needle gauge to judge the thickness of the yarn. If the yarn is a little variable in diameter then take and average of the thickest and thinnest parts. If in doubt err on the bigger needle size.

2. Use a ruler or wpi tool to measure the average number of wraps per inch of yarn. Then use the table below to figure out the needle size. This works well for simple plain yarns but not so well for crazy fluffy ones with added feathers or beads. Thistable is a little different from those published elsewhere as this is tried and tested for semi-even handspun.

Yarn weight wpi needle size

Laceweight 18 or more 2-2.75mm

4ply/Fingering Weight 16 2.5-3.5mm

Double knit 14 3.5-4.5mm

Aran 12 4.5-5.5mm

Chunky 10 5.5-8mm

Super Chunky 8 or less 8-15mm

Last night was our T'chai Ovna knitters night. Vonnie and I were joined by Angelabdc from ravelry and had a fab time.

Lost for words ...

2008-02-12T09:47:00.000+01:00

I got in quite late last night after work and trampoline coaching and was a little stressed after driving home in the freezing fog ... so imagine my surprise when Dh mentioned he'd collected 2 parcels for me from the delivery office. He then went on to tease me about ordering a broomstick which is what one of the packages looked like. It turned out to be the new sponge bar for the Knitmaster which I'll play with properly when I have more time later on this week.

The second parcel really took my breath and words away .... it was from Whichit, who had kindly offered to be my angel secret santa. I opened it and pulled out a lovely handwritten letter and then gasped as she'd sent so many beautiful and thoughtful things, she's spoilt me rotten and totally made my day. I don't know what to say ...... but a HUGE THANK YOU!!!!

Long Update ..

2008-02-11T10:18:00.000+01:00

I finished test knitting SSS on friday which was a happy and sad occassion. I was happy to see her finished to admire her beauty as a whole, but she's been a large part of my knitting life for the last 3 months and I was sad to see her finished.

The final yardage came in exactly on estimate at 1485m without the swatches or ~1500m with the two swatches. I blocked her as wide as possible to try and reduce the length but will reblock to make her a little longer and less wide. Currently she's 75cm wide and 210cm long. I'd forgotten how much Shetland wool grows on blocking.

Here's a little teaser ....

I've been busy spinning for about 15mins each evening since Christmas but haven't shown any pictures of finished yarn. This was mostly because the batteries in the camera have been dead and the new ones I'd ordered took a while to arrive.

The first yarn is a rainbow. I combed and blended 10 colours of merino roving to give 30 colours and then spun from dark red thru to purple and navajo plyed to give long colour variations. I now have a 150g skein of approx double knit thickness yarn.

Next are two skeins used for playing with colour blending using combs and the hackle. The turquoise skein was 75% turquoise 25% green, blue, purple and a dash of pink, while the bluish skein was equal amounts of each. These are 75g and 50g hanks. I think they'll work quite well together.

Next is some Cheviot fleece that I washed, degreased and dyed shades of blue, pink and purple, then combed and spun. Its spun as a fine single when navajo plyed gives a 4ply. I like the way the colours have worked out quite heathery, unfortunately it's a little on the scratchy side. I think I#ll reset the twist in this and try and soften it a little by soaking it in boiling water with a little hair conditioner for 1 min and then ice cold water for 1 min. This usually helped fluff up and soften scratchy yarn.

and a close up ....

My next experiment was to navajo underply some singles and then re- navajo ply them to make a balanced yarn. I hadn't seen this done before and wondered how it would turn out. ta da. Its a little bit ropey as the initial single was worsted spun. I'd like to retry with a woollen spun single to see if it makes a difference to the final yarn.

a little out of focus close up ....

On to knitting .... remember I mentioned magic ball knitting a few weeks ago. Here is a magic ball mitred square cotton cleaning cloth. Its made from oddments of 4ply cotton that I plied to give 3 strands of colour per block and then knitted up. I'm quite pleased with how its turned out.

Machine knitting has been temporarily abandoned partly due to lack of time and as I'm waiting for my new sponge bar to arrive which should stop the dropped stitches.

We were away in the hills this weekend and I unfortunately managed to pick up my second cycling puncture of the year, 10km from the car on a hyro-scheme road. Its the same tyre as last time, so I'm assuming I was either very unlucky or there's a cut in the tyre. So I had to walk for 2 hours to get back to the car which left plenty of time for contemplation (something I've been lacking recently).

I cast on last night for the first of my pay-it -forward gifts. I'm not sure which of my pals will receive it, but its in Kidsilk night Macbeth colourway (I love teasing).

Finally here's a list of my knitting commitments for the next few months:

1. Something blue for a friend who gets married in June

2. Pay-it-forward

3. Baby things for the spring arrivals of which there are many ... how exciting is that?

4. Finish a few nearly finished WIP's

5. Comb and spin last years fleece before this years shearing begins.

Oh and I've been SO good .... we're 6 weeks into 2008 and I haven't spent a single penny on yarn! ...

SSS Clue 6

2008-02-07T09:14:00.000+01:00

Here is my testknitters version of Clue 6 for SSS. I know this part is quite different from the pattern LUL has released, but I thought you might like to see my version.

SSS is a great pattern because IMHO the most beautiful yet difficult part comes nearly at the end in clues 10 and 11 ... you'll see!!!

2008-02-01T09:46:00.000+01:00

Hello from a wet,cold and windy Glasgow!!! It feel like its been like this for the last month or so. Here wind and rain always come at the same time which makes kite flying a difficult and wet pursuit. Believe me ... I know.

Finally most of my stress is over. The grant is now well and truly out of my hands and I can only keep my fingers crossed. The final decision is to be made in the next couple of weeks. I've also managed to catch up on the back log of work things and can say that its been a very satisfying week.

I met up with Vonnie last night for tea and falafel at T'chai Ovna in Shawlands. Vonnie's christening dress was looking gorgeous and in a beautiful and unusual dusky dark pink. I can't wait to see it finished and pics of it in action. It was also the first time I had my drop spindle out in public.

I came into work early this morning as I was trying to submit a conference abstract before the deadline (its now been extended) and found a nice surprise when I logged into ravelry. I participated in a secret santa swap on the ravelry uk swaps forum. I had fun being santa to whichit but sadly didn't seem to have a santa myself and was not having any luck contacting the swap organiser. ... So I was really touched by whichits offer to be my belated santa. THANK YOU!!!

I have some things to show ... I've been busy combing the fleece I dyed last year.

and colour blending ...

and spinning (pics to follow).

Here are the next few quotes from my thesis as promised.

This next one is one of my favourites.

"In these days of upheaval and violent change when the basic values of today are the vain and shattered dreams of tomorrow, there is much to be said for a philosophy which aims at living a full life while the opportunity offers" Eric Shipton

"Science is nothing but trained and organised common sense" Thomas Huxley

" ... "would you tell me, please which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to" said the Cat. "I don't care much where-" said Alice. "Then it doesn't matter which way you go." said the Cat. "-so long as I get somewhere," Alice added as an explanation. "Oh you're sure to do that," said the Cat, "if only you walk long enough"." Lewis Carroll.

SSS Clue 5

2008-01-31T14:30:00.001+01:00

SSS Clue 5 ish. Again from test knitting so with this clue I know the final pattern has changes in the small circles from the picture shown here.

2008-01-29T09:06:00.000+01:00

Quick update ...

I've been busy working on the last hurdle of the grant I submitted last september. For the next couple of weeks its fingers crossed.

1. SSS - no pictures for clue 4, but will post some of clue 5 in the next few days.

2.Knitmaster - its cleaned, oiled and I knitted a small tension square with it. Whahey!

I'll post properly tomorrow when all the stress is over.