as inventoried on Ravelry

For a while now my knitting needles as inventoried on Ravelry don't quite tally with needles in my hanging organiser. So last night, I went through all my circular needles (crochet hooks, DPNs and straights are always in order) mainly to separate the wheat from the chaff. Also, over the past few weeks, I noticed a fair few of my needles have joins that are pulling apart. This occurs either at the point the wood meets the metal

or the cable meets the metal housing. Now my preference has always been for metal tips but every once in a while (against my better judgement) I succumb to wooden tips and this is what I get. 

Today all my Needles/Hooks as inventoried on Ravelry are spot on. I even included notes on who I've loaned what needles and cables to!

My updated list has been printed onto cardstock which I will pop into my knit kit and project bags in the hope that this will stop me buying duplicates and triplicates when at knit fairs this summer. 

Particularly problematic were my interchangeable tips which moved about the chart depending on what cable they happened to be fixed to at the time. I've eliminated this problem by charting all tips on the 60" row and then making a side note of the cable lengths I own. Not entirely satisfactory but it works well enough for me.

Is "needles/hooks" a Ravelry feature you use? Have you got a different/better method of organising needles and hooks to stop you buying duplicates, triplicates & more-plicates? Or are you one to just buy the set and be done with it? 

non-standard

Another day, another pair of socks off the needles. Though infinitely more pleasant to knit than the naughty ones, these were not a walk in the park. Far from it.

I found the yarn (Jitterbug by Colinette) to be "non-standard" sock yarn. Ordinarily I cast on 64 stitches when knitting plain ole vanilla socks but 64 sts on 2.25mm needles (also my norm) turned out way too big. So I went down to 60 sts and 2mm needles but got a very stiff, dense fabric and that just won't do! So I ripped back once again, this time to 56 sts on 2.25mm needles which turned out to be just right in terms of texture and snugness.

The yardage seemed measly to me, how can anyone compare 318 yards to the 440 yards typical of sock yarn? At time of purchase, I fretted over getting just the single skein but now I'm glad I didn't get a second, these socks reach halfway up my leg! That'll learn me, calling Jutterbug puny. 

Yep, I like my new socks very much. Though I say "my" I'm not sure I'll keep them for myself. 

I've moved on to the next thing, quilting. I've semi-quilted my cheat's quilt and today I'll put the binding on 

both this and another "un-binded" (un-bound?) quilt. Hopefully very soon I'll run out of excuses and will HAVE TO piece my rotten bananas quilt. I dunno what my problem is, i LOVE piecing!

Then there's my summer cardigan, that I swatched for last night. I'm optimistic that this will turn out very well indeed. So far I love the knitted fabric, 

it's exactly how I imagined: soft, lightweight and summery. I hope it stands up to wear. My plan is to have this done in time to wear it to Knit Nation. Speaking of which, I booked my train ticket today and I'm quite beside myself with anticipation. I'm most excited about meeting two blog friends (a tangled yarn and  travel knitter) in real life as well as anyone else I bump into. Will you be at Knit Nation this year?

And i WILL be properly dressed this year. I'll have my Ravelry name badge visible AND will have an item of knitting on me. I swear people were looking at me funny last year. I could just see them doing double takes, mentally asking, "And you call yourself a knitter?, Where are your hand knits?"

my not-yet-impressive sock drawer

Yesterday wasn't so good so today I woke up determined to do something that makes me happy: clean! That's right folks, when in doubt I clean. But nothing too strenuous, just a couple of drawers that had slowly turned into junk drawers.

The first, my not-yet-impressive sock drawer

the plan is to one day (in the not too distant future) fill the whole drawer with hand knit socks, like proper sock knitters do.

Next there's my make-up drawer, which was in such a state (following my recent trips to Cambridge/London, Norway/London, Wales, London) that I couldn't ignore it any more. 

i do like a tidy drawer.

Then of course I had to clean my make up brushes too

{clean brushes}

not that they're getting much use (due to inexplicable skin issues this year) yet it's nice to know that they'll be waiting when I'm ready.

It's baking here today (hot day, not cakes) and in anticipation of a summer consisting entirely of this sort of weather - a girl can dream - we're airing the tents.

 We hope to go on a mini biking/camping trip in the Yorkshire Dales this year. 

Finally some knitting content, my oh-so-close-i-can-taste-it socks

knit entirely on two circulars for the first time ever! Previous attempts saw me turning heels on DPNs. I've less than 20g to go so I'll be on to the ribbed cuff very soon. I find the ribbed cuff slightly tricky: how many grams is the perfect (short of perfect, I'll settle for a 1") ribbed cuff in fingering weight yarn? 

The pattern reads, "When your sock is 1 inch short of the desired leg length, work in K1 P1 ribbing for 1 inch. Bind off very loosely in rib." This pattern obviously doesn't take into account people like me, who want to use every last mm of yarn when knitting socks from the toe up! What's your "cut-off" for ribbing on a toe-up sock?

Yes, there is such a thing as too much ribbing. 

naughty socks

This should be a ta-da! post. But it's not, it's a show of SHAME! Surely you know what's coming. Yup, my naughty socks are done. But because they put me through such hell, I decided to spite them back by giving them a "less than" finish

three needle bind off toes. Yeah, who's laughing now, PUNK!

project details

Pattern: Jaywalker by Grumperina

Yarn: Ginseng by Madelinetosh (tosh sock) + yellow fleece artist (no label)

Quantity: 1 skein of ginseng + 12g of yellow for heel and toes

Modifications: three needle bind off, opposite heel and toe in contrasting colour. 

On a more pleasant note, there's my "cheat's quilt"

so called because the top wasn't quilted by me; 'twas made that way. My backing fabric (also a linen/cotton blend) arrived yesterday. It was out of the postman's hands and into the wash (together with the batch from M is for Make) in under 10 mins! After which I pressed and basted the quilt sandwich. Basting - the quilting step which involves attaching the quilt top to the batting and backing fabric - is the step I heretofore found tedious but now don't mind so much. I think this change in attitude is mainly due to being able to lay out the quilt sandwich on my table for the purpose of pinning in place. Bet you I won't feel this way once I attempt basting king size quilts.

I'm itching to get my present sock project off the needles, so I can have yet another go at THE perfect fit cardigan using

a little something I picked up in the Liberty sale last Sunday. 

This will be my first time using Rowan yarns and linen/viscose is a blend I think will work well in a lacy summer cardigan. And why not, the perfect fit is bound to be just around the corner...isn't it?

a week of creativity

All in all this was a week of creativity. On Saturday, I taught my friend's girls to make books. I wasn't sure what to expect and started off excited at the prospect but as Saturday grew nearer, a minor freak out ensued. Scary thoughts started to form, thoughts like: what if I've forgotten something important? what if they don't like their books?, what if i drive them over the edge with demands of perfection?, what if they can't keep up/ are squabblers/ decide I suck or worse, I lose my temper?! Then it was Saturday and the girls (and mum) showed up for their book-making session and it was awesome.

The youngest was five and contrary to my fears, had absolutely no problems keeping up. I was impressed by: their dexterity, their strong sense of colour - without missing a beat, they instinctively knew which colours go well together (OR it could be they just picked colour combos I like), and their thought process in using and placing embellishments. 

I don't interact with anyone in the 5 - 11 age group so this was a very interesting experience for me. The following day, I earmarked another 3 books for next time. Yes, there will be a next time.

On Wednesday, a dear friend came over for what she called a quilting masterclass. (I like that). Lou was not new to quilting, she'd made a full size quilt some years ago but for various reasons, didn't enjoy the process. I promised her that in just a few hours, I could change the way she feels about quilting. So on Wednesday we chose fabrics from her stash, cut and pieced them (with the straightest lines EVER!) then basted the top to wadding and backing. Yesterday we finished off with the binding and she had a mini quilt which covered all the fundamental quilt construction techniques. Yesterday I discovered two things: I was right; she does like quilting again and my dear friend has a perfectionist streak in her and the streak is strong :) 

At this stage I would show you a picture of the finished mini-quilt but (you guessed it) I didn't take one. so here you go

{Lou's mini quilt. photo courtesy of Lou}

Then there's Imi's quilt. So inspired was I by Lou's perfect lines that I whipped up a quilt top of my own on Wednesday night and after finishing off Lou's binding yesterday, I basted and quilted this baby 

This is the quickest I've ever made a quilt. It's for a little girl who adores pink and yellow! but all the yellows in my stash are in my now infamous rotten bananas quilt so, I went with pink and green instead. Classic. 

Imi will meet her quilt later today. I hope they get along. 

the homemade home

Today's post is one I've been meaning to write-up for a while: a book I treated myself to within days of moving into the (still) new house. 

I first saw

in the bookstore of my garden centre. As it was always the first book I picked up, I gave in and ordered it off Amazon. I was rather eager to receive mail at my brand spanking new address.

When I sat down to it, I began to understand what I liked about this book. This is a craft book for all, including/especially those that claim to not have a crafty bone in them. Projects are divided into 7 sections covering techniques like applique, hand and machine sewing, clay making, collage, embroidery (with interesting effects) and flower & leaf art, to name a few. Added to all that are 18 "quick ideas" - like framed clothing and teacup plants - dotted about the book. 

To say I love every project in the homemade home would be untrue. Fortunately there are enough projects to keep me happy so I will try my hand at these, tweaking to suit my tastes where necessary. In my opinion, a number of the finished objects pictured have "that homemade look"* I used to turn my nose up at but which recently I've come to appreciate as I learn to embrace imperfection. 

Another reason I approve of this book is that majority of projects call for supplies I (and most crafters) have lying around so no new materials to buy (yipee!), music to my ears. As for those projects that do call for materials I don't possess, (e.g. blackboard paint, white modelling clay, thin dowel), the requisite items are relatively** inexpensive, making these projects VERY cost-effective. 

I don't spend a lot on craft books, craft magazines or PDFs but when I do, I'm very keen to get value for my money so I'm pleased to say that this book delivers on that count. Just in case I haven't made myself clear: I like the homemade home very much! 

*e.g. children's artwork. If I'm going to transfer and fix images onto glazed ceramics, I won't be using "wonky" images. I appreciate that some people like that sort of thing - to each his own - that's just not my style.

**compared to a skein of sock yarn.

feeling shitty

Monday mornings are not something I look forward to. It often happens that everything that can go wrong does and having important things lined up only seems to worsen the matter. Add to that the fact that I've been feeling shitty for days and you have the makings of major drama. At this point, I should clarify that 'feeling shitty' doesn't involve my health but rather my vanity. I've been existing under a cloak of butt fugly (butt effin' ugly) for about a week now and this morning I decided to shake it off. Instead of my usual 7-minute bathroom routine I spent an hour and a half on: washing and deep conditioning my hair, tweezing my eyebrows, pumicing my soles (and knees), all-over body scrubbing including sugar scrubbing my lips, attending to my eczema patches (told you it was fugly), and ridding myself of unwanted hairs! whew - I sure kicked Monday morning up the backside! 

And how did I feel afterwards? Like magic, like a million dollars (why do they never say a million pounds?) - I felt (and still feel) very good. But this Monday's goodness didn't stop there. Oh no, when I opened the front door for my first mail check of the day (I can't help it. Though our mail isn't delivered until about 2pm, I check about once an hour starting at 9am) I saw a white envelope addressed to me!  you see?! This Monday is so good that even the postman played ball! 

Inside this mysterious white envelope was:

four bits of fabric I ordered from M is for make on Saturday. I'm familiar with Japanese linen/cotton blends but have waited so long to try my hand at Echino and Lecien fabrics. On first impressions, the echino (purples) are tougher/coarser/sturdier than other kokka fabrics in my stash but I'm yet to wash and press them so this could change. The bottom left piece is earmarked for a baby quilt while the other 3 require further consideration.

I'm off to devour tuck into my homemade lunch now 

which, I'm pleased to report, is also VERY well behaved. mmmm, tasty.

I'm feeling good (even if a little itchy in places).

Eden Roc

a little something for the weekend

Enjoy.

book-making marathon

Yesterday I hung out with Sarah and B at the farmer's market in town. Even though I didn't buy much, there was plenty of opportunity to taste and discover new things. 

The stalls were filled with colourful and interesting foods like

and

and

B was a darling (as usual) 

in her gorgeous sparkly shoes (which of course I didn't photograph - doh!). I was then invited back to theirs where I chilled with 

and chatted with Sarah till it was time for my dental appointment. I suppose I could talk about the magazines but I don't recall anything worth mentioning. I don't know if that's because I'm not a magazine person or because nothing really stood out :(

Today will be spent getting ready for tomorrow's book-making marathon with three adorable girls! I haven't made books in such a long time. I do hope it goes well. 

Wishing you a lovely weekend.

there was measuring

Yesterday, the last of my Christmas presents was delivered. A kettle I treated myself to in the John Lewis sale. This present was doomed from the get go. It's been 6 months of chasing up my order, numerous broken promises to call me back, and basically more hassle than any kettle is worth.  Then it finally arrived...

...and it was incomplete?!?! That's right folks, it's missing the spout whistle! After 6 months you'd think they'd at least get it right. Don't even get me started on John Lewis' shite customer service.

Moving on swiftly. The arrival of my kettle highlighted the fact that I could do with a potholder or two. So early this morning I set about making these

gratifyingly quick and oh so simple to make (which is why I made 4).

But once I began sewing I didn't want to stop. I wondered what else I could whip up and decided to try my hand at an item on "the never ending make list".

There was measuring:

{I used the old oven mitts (turned inside out) as a template}

and cutting and layering

followed by quilting

and more cutting

and zig-zagging and turning inside-out (& right side out again) with a little tug here, an expletive there

until finally there was

my imperfect (but perfectly serviceable) pair of oven mitts! And bonus! the green matches my kitchen walls :)

This was a good crafting day - it's been too long since I made something. Hmmm, what to have a go at next?!?! Please don't ask about my knitting. Please don't ask about my knitting. Please don't ask about my knitting. Please don't ask about my knitting.....