Catching Up

I had a lovely 5 weeks in London. I managed to catch up with a number of friends and also with a city that I love. It's been 10 years since I graduated from college and moved away from London and my fondness for the city had dimmed in that time. So it has been a treat to have had a job that allowed me to fall in love with the city all over again. It has made me want to come back and live here. That isn't possible at the moment but I hope that in the not too distant future I will get to call London home again.

Imagination?

I spotted this on friday,

Angels fancy dress shop in central London. The queues run down the street in both directions. I love that there are signs by the door for a ladies and mens queue and security men. Are they there to check you're in the right queue?


What ever happened to using a bit of imagination? Did no one watch Blue Peter?

Acquisitions

Recently I went to the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace, and I bought myself some lovely things.

Firstly, Habu yarn. These are to make my friend Sarah a scarf. This scarf that I spotted on the

Habu website a little while ago. The idea of knitting with an unconventional yarn intrigued me but I know that I wouldn't wear the end result. However, my friend Sarah most likely will do. She studied fashion design and now works in theatre costume. I know that even if she doesn't wear it she will be interested in the materials it is made from and will understand and appreciate the work that has gone in to the gift.

I also bought this silk, which strangely looks and feels more like cotton, to make something for myself. A scarf or shawl-ette most likely.

Kauni 8/2. I've bought this in 2 colour ways, rainbow that I hope to use for a Clapotis

and this red/orange that I'm not sure about. Some kind of stole or wrap I think, I'm just not sure which yet. I'm stalking Ravelry's pattern page looking for ideas.

I also bought some sock yarn from Cherry Tree Hill to make , well socks. There's

Caribou Creek
Wild Cherry

and When Only Denim Will Do.

Lastly I bought 2 hanks of laceweight from the Natural Dye Studio.

I have found myself being drawn to lace projects of late. I have a few patterns saved in my Ravelry notebook and will now be able to start narrowing the choices down.

One of Our Dinosaurs is Missing

Walking along Knightsbridge today these stopped me in my tracks. The windows of Harvey Nichols contained 2 dinosaurs. Escapees from the Natural History Museum down the road? No, these are cleverly constructed of coat hangers. Whoever saw a pile of wooden coat hangers and thought - Dinosaur Skeleton - is a genius, it certainly made me stop and look.

Here they are in all their glory.

Two dinosaurs on the loose and no Nannies in sight. What is the world coming to?

Out walking

One of the things I love about London is going out walking. There are so many things to see whether it be a walk along the river, through a park or along the streets.


Yesterday I had a good wander from Charing Cross to Marble Arch, past Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park corner, along the Serpentine to Lancaster Gate.


I spotted these joyful chaps watching the boating on the Serpentine.

The idea of 2 snowmen enjoying the autumn sun made me smile.

They make me want to go back with a flask of tea and my book and settle down for an afternoon people watching.

Ending and Beginning

Ended - my Lorna's Laces Iris Garden socks. Started in January and finished this week. They haven't been on the needles all that time. Sock 1 got knitted in the spring and sat with it's toe waiting to be gafted until the summer. Sock 2 I tore through in under 2 weeks thanks to the joy of tube time. Time spent travelling from A to B means I can get out my knitting and whizz out a couple of rounds before my stop. All those few rounds soon start to add up and before you know it, you've got a pair (the knitting whilst at work may have helped too!).

Beginning - Lorna's Laces socks in Wisteria this time. These will take a bit longer as they will just be out and about socks. For work knitting I'm continuing with my Wavy scarf.

I have to count to 3 repeatedly for this pattern and it's proving to be a bit beyond me. 1 day last week I had to rip out stitches on nearly every row due to my inability to count to 3. It's rubbish, even children can do it. 1-2-3. See, I can do it too - just not when I have that scarf in my hands! I don't mind being seen out knitting in public but I wouldn't like another knitter to catch me knitting, counting, tinking, reknitting, recounting, tinking again and again on a project that really is quite simple. I also have to keep the pattern with me at all times as it has a 44 row repeat which I can not memorise. It's just too similar, the same rows repeated in different orders sometimes paired, sometimes not.

Lovely, lovely

Well the family holiday was lovely.

7 days in Dordogne enjoying lovely sun

and lovely food and lovely family.

I did knock out a fair bit of knitting, just not Lillith as planned. The Knit Picks harmony tips I bought for her were 2 different sizes, neither the size I need for the pattern! So they will be sent back from whence they came and I have still to cast on for this.

I then spent a week at home pottering about and dyeing some fabric. This is for the November

favourite technique swap on dyehard run off. I also dyed fabric for the autumn block swap which I spent my day off this week putting together.

I have cast aside the welcome to the world tank top as it is horrid. The yarn slid off the needles constantly and despite having achieved gauge, the neck ended up being far too small and tight to maneuver over a wriggling infants head. All in all it wouldn't have been much of a welcome gift so I shall have to come up with something else instead. I'm thinking a Baby Yours sweater by the Yarnharlot would suit, it looks a bit more interesting than a lot of baby sweaters.

Now I'm here,

working for a few weeks. I'm having a lovely time, the show is great as are the cast and crew and this is my favourite city. I've been out and about walking lots as we've had such fantastic weather. I'm saving the galleries and museums for when the rain comes. An added bonus of this job was the Knitting and Stitching Show. I usually attend in Harrogate but was able to make the event at Alexandra Palace show this year. In case you haven't worked out where I am

this should give it away. Lovely, lovely London.

How rubbish am I?

Well the Olympics have finished and therefore I am officially rubbish. I didn't manage to get a single one of my projects over the finishing line. Never mind, it does mean that I'm almost done with the welcome to the world tank top and the Christmas present scarf is off to a good start.

While plan A - finish stupid amount of knitting whilst (moving house and starting a new job and visiting godchildren) watching the Olympics - failed, I've hatched a Plan B - holiday knitting. I'm going on holiday with the family in 3 weeks time and Lilith will be coming with me. I think I can handle that. In the 3 weeks before I go I should be able to finish the other Olympics projects. I think I can handle that too. I just need to order myself some more Debbie Bliss Pure Silk or the scarf will be more of a necktie.

Over Reaching Olympian

I've been competing in the Ravelympics. However, I was a bit overoptimistic in the amount of knitting I would manage in a 17 day period. Especially considering the fact that I was finishing 1 job and starting a new one (including packing up my room and moving to Wales!) during the games. Well whilst Team GB have been having a great games I've not been faring so well.

I cast on for my Baby Dressage project on the opening day and managed a couple of inches over the opening weekend. I'm now on the front neck and think this one is do-able by the end of the games. I also cast on for Scarf Stroke with Wave in Debbie Bliss Pure Silk. I have 2 skeins of this yarn and having finished skein 1 I am about to finish repeat 3 of 10! I think that I've boobed there on the substitution! And no matter how hard I knit I'm not gonna make it with that project.

My third project was Ankle Sock for the Sock Put. I cast on for this on Super Saturday and realised that I hadn't read the pattern on this one very well. With a new pattern to follow it's going slower that I had expected and I've only made it to the foot of the first sock.

My final project is for the Laceweight Long Jump and is Lilith in Louet Kidlin Lace. This is still neatly balled and in it's bag with the pattern, needles and buttons waiting for me to cast on!

So all in all it looks like a bit of a wash out for my first games. Note to self for 2012 -don't get carried away with all of the cool sounding events - remember how fast you knit, read the patterns properly and above all BE REALISTIC! Still there are still 2 1/2 days to go so I may make it yet ;)

Socks made and socks yet to come

I love sock yarn, especially the magic kind that does lovely stripes all by itself. When I learnt to knit about 5 years ago (taught by my lovely aunt) I read about it in a knitting magazine and wanted to have a go with it. I did knit my first pair of socks a couple of years ago but I was still a fairly new knitter and they took several months to finish because of the little needles. I had a go but couldn't work out grafting so did a 3 needle bind off and ended up with these funny funnel toes :)

But now I can knit quicker and those little needles aren't such a drag I had another go. I bought myself some Lorna's Laces for Christmas and made this

(It still needs a mate but I left this at home when I came away on tour so it will have to wait!)

I brought a ball of sock yarn and pattern on tour incase I wanted a change from all of the cashmerino astrakhan baby jumpers I'm currently working on (Sheepish in York were selling it at £2 a ball in January - it practically bought itself!). I only had a part ball having made a hat from it already so I adapted the pattern to make trainer socks. Three weeks later we have

And along the way this might have ordered itself from the interwebs

as might this

and a little wander in London might have taken in Iknit where this might have been purchased

as might this which also seems to have started turning itself into another sock! An ankle sock this time.

I'm sure loving this yarn as it has almost single round stripes. The pink does just 1 round but the purple does 1 round and a bit you can't see this unless you are looking very closely.

I'm seeing a lot more socks in my future. I can even wear these now I've got the grafting thing

It's funny what you miss

I move around lots in my job and so spend my life living in people's spare rooms. Strangers spare rooms. And as lovely as these people are I'm always aware that it is their home I am living in. So I try and keep quiet and not hog the bathroom taking hour long baths (One of my favourite hobbies!) and generally keep out of their way.

One of things that I really miss is being able to make a mess in the kitchen. I miss baking and making jam and cooking things that take time or lots of pots. So when I'm at home I love to indulge.

Today I dipped into my favourite cook book - Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess - and made

Banana Bread for my Dad as he loves this and always takes cake in his pack lunch

and Banana Muffins for my friend and I as we both love banana (I modified this recipe to add a spoonful of Nutella in the centre of each muffin as we both love this too)

and finally a double batch of cupcakes which I will be taking to work on Wednesday for the meet and greet.

So having arrived home yesterday I've got my baking fix and done my washing and tomorrow I head off to Harrogate to do some proper work.