What bliss! What rapture!

What am I doing blogging at quarter to ten on a Thursday morning?
Well, as of 1pm yesterday it's the school holidays! Ya dancer as we say in these parts.


Talking of bliss and rapture, I hope those going to Woolfest have a wonderful time. Maybe I'll join you next year.

A special welcome to my international visitors! I've got a Neocounter on free trial which breaks down the country of origin of all who access the page. Have a scroll down the right hand side to see what a cosmopolitan bunch visit KEDkrafty. Sri Lanka, Costa Rica, Egypt..... you name it! Thanks for stopping by, as they say.

Still no joy on the digital camera, so we'll have to settle for an archive picture of the yarn I'm using for my shawl. Yes, I know Thomas D, it's sad that I 'happen to have' a photo of this yarn in my Picasa files, just for a rainy day.

Necessity is the mother of invention

Okay, so I haven't got a digital camera at the moment but it doesn't mean the blog has to be a picture-free zone.
Here is a picture from Wrap Style of the Shetland Triangle I've been working on and that you can see in progress below.

See how small it is? I'll have to keep reminding myself of that as I work through the pattern. On paper I have enough yarn to make it slightly bigger than the one shown, but you never can tell. I'm getting to that all-too-familiar, "Will I have enough to make it the way I want it?" feeling.

This picture gives you a better idea about the stitch pattern as my yarn is a bit fuzzy.

30 THINGS ABOUT ME

Okay, here goes, 30 things about me-

1. I love our digital camera.
2. Our digital camera is broken and would cost more to repair than to replace. This makes me very sad.

Actually, that's only 2 things about me. You'll have to make up the other 28. Sigh.

Here is an archive picture of a bee on a bush in Alexandra Park two weeks ago to keep you going.

Social life!

Had a rather sociable couple of weeks which haven't included much blogging.
However, they have included a 21st birthday party, a brilliant concert by Karine Polwart, dinners out, a 50th birthday party and the like.
Also had two parents' nights which are a bit, em, not very well scheduled in my opinion as the pupils won't have much time to take on board what we're saying before the summer holidays. The parents' nights are summative at best I suppose.
Anyway, this means I haven't done much blogging, but I've been working away at my knitting.
Bit of the Eva cardigan, bit of the Rowan exchange doo-dah, and a bit of my second lace shawl by Evelyn Clark. It's Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style this time. I'm enjoying it again, and the pattern is very simple, basically
k3 yo k1 yo k3 sk2po at various intervals. But it's the intervals which count, which is why she is a designer, and I am not!
This is the evidence of one ball's worth. It's about neckerchief size at present so I'm hoping it groooooooooooooowwwws pdq.

The yarn is fuzzy and the colour changes disguise the pattern but hopefully you can see the swirls of the "fir cone" pattern starting to emerge. 

Surface of a strange and distant planet. Or the wrong side of my latest venture into lace shawl knitting. Shetland Triangle by Evelyn Clark in Lang Yarns Venezia. 

Reunited!

I've been reunited with my lovely Deep bolero!

It's shown here with my green linen skirt, which is one of the few things I feel I can wear to work on a hot summer's day and feel cool without looking as if I'm on holiday. Don't get me wrong, it's easy to look nice in the summer, it's just not easy to get the balance between professional, and cool. Anyway, that's not the point.

The point is my Deep has been returned smelling quite strongly; smells a bit like "Brasso". The woman at Rowan who was dealing with it didn't say anything about them trying to fix the dye, but I've a feeling they did, otherwise they maybe tested it with some chemical or other. Failing that, why would it have acquired a new smell? (Not the smell of the packaging, I checked.)

They are giving me a refund of the cost of the yarn used, which should be with me within the week. I checked over the garment, it hasn't been overstretched or anything. When I sent in the cardie I also printed off a picture of that jug of blue water on photo paper, and the lady said it proved quite conclusive. I take the view they were all set to give me a refund anyway, not having asked for ball bands, dye lots, proof of purchase or anything. I reckon it is not the first time they've had such a complaint about this yarn. I'm glad to have my Deep back anyway, I'm sure I'll get the wear out of it this summer.

So, I've tempted you all into becoming lace fiends then? An enabler for knitaholics! I swatched for my next lace project, Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style, but the yarn and pattern were competing. Good job I swatched. Now, to hunt through the stash for something more suitable. Could take some time and a fair bit of swatching to find something which is not only in harmony with the pattern but I would be dying to wear when I was finished. No point in going to all that trouble if I don't love it.

My main knitting this week has been for the Rowan International exchange, but I can't show you that until the reveal in July, so I'll have to settle for showing you one ball's worth of progress on Eva from the Jaeger Roma Collection.
http://www.englishyarns.co.uk/jaeger_jb40.html

Off now to join some friends for Worldwide Knit in Public Day. x K

Thank-you very much.

Thank-you very much for all the lovely compliments on the shawl - I needn't have worried about waiting for a glam occasion to wear it, I've just been making a point of wearing it, glam or no glam. I can tell you it's good to cover your flabby, sorry chilly arms and shoulders if you wear a summer top.

Here is the link to where I bought the shawl pattern . You may have to scroll down. It's shown onsite in a green self-colour (small) and reddy-orange varigated yarn (large).
While checking out this link for you, I noticed that Sue has got the lovely Flower Basket shawl available- I think I may get the credit card out after dinner!
In other knitting I am about 1/3 way through the knitting of my Rowan International exchange pressie. There's a lot of finishing to be done when the knitting's all finished, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Thanks again for all the lovely comments- other knitters' opinions mean more because you have an appreciation of these things, but I must say that this design has actually provoked quite a lot of feedback from folk who wouldn't normally notice hand-knitted gear. x K

Look what I made!

How do you like my Lace Leaf Shawl? This pattern is so well-written it's addictive. All credit to Evelyn A. Clark at Fibertrends- I completed this in ten days start to finish(ball to blog), including yarn availability crisis. Maybe that's nothing to you, but for me who sweats over lace, has far too many projects on the go and takes donkey's years to finish even beloved projects, that is not long at all.

I can't wait to cast on another of her patterns, I have learnt so much about construction while doing this pattern too. Think it will be Shetland Triangle from Wrap Style, just because I've got it- I'll be surfing the net for Evelyn Clark's other patterns.

This current Lace Leaf Shawl has instructions for all different yarn weights. I did mine in Rowan Kid Classic, shade "Royal" #835. Don't worry India , I won't be offended if you don't touch it, I know Kid Classic doesn't agree with you! 70% Lambswool, 26% Kid Mohair, 4% Nylon. I bought the pattern from getknitted and the wool from English Yarns, both in sidebar.

You can just keep knitting and knitting until it's the size you want because you are starting at the back neck and radiating from there, but mine is between small and large on the pattern notes. Medium, if you like! 106cm neck to point, 200cm wing-span.

If you ever knit this pattern or something similar- don't underestimate how much yarn you will need for the edging and the cast off. The 15-row edging plus slightly different cast off took nearly a full ball (140m on full ball) which caused much panic and raking round the stash. In my mind I had four balls of this but I had forgotten I had used some of it for making my Flora, which you can see in my archives around October 2/3 last year. I managed to find the remainder of that fourth ball thankfully, and made it with just a couple of metres to spare.

I used Jaeger beads for the edging and hooked them on as per instructions. I quite like that method because you don't need to string the beads, and you know how your yarn can get a bit worn with the friction from the beads. Great for on-the-hoof embellishments too.

All in all a really good fun knit, with surprisingly little swearing and heartache. Pardon my indulgence with all the detail shots, but you could say I'm quite fond of this one. All I need now is somewhere glam to wear it..... K x

The hedge shot. Good for seeing pattern, colour not entirely true. 

Woman with shawl. A study. 

The hedge shot -good for colour, not so hot on detail. 

Looking like a native American from the back. 

Point on the scalloped edging. 

Edging lace and beads. You add beads with a crochet hook on the final row before cast off. New technique for me. 

Braided Mischief

Okay, let's get this bit over with...I sent my lovely Deep off to Rowan yesterday, it's all out of my hands now. One thing which struck me as odd was they didn't ask for ball bands or proof of purchase or anything, oh well, they're the experts. I'll keep you posted.

In other knitting news I have finished a lovely present for my husband. No false modesty here ;-) Well, I say it's for my husband, it's a unisex style. As I was saying at the knitting meetup on Sunday- first up, best dressed!

It's Braided Mischief by Teva Durham from Scarf Style. I didn't knit it in multiple strands of tweed as recommended, I knitted it in a single strand of Debbie Bliss Maya, from getknitted. It is very long because I used three full hanks. I could have stopped sooner and it would have been long enough, but then I would have been left with oddments of the yarn just sitting there, taking up space. OMG, this yarn diet has really gone to my head!

It's a warm yarn to start with, and the basket-weave type cable pattern makes it even warmer. Good job J likes walking up chilly hills and braving exposed sea fronts. It is May after all. The reason this is for him is because he loved the Wavy scarf I did him in a different colour of the same yarn last year. Health to wear it.

And the shawl? The shawl is coming on just dandy. In fact if we hadn't been out enjoying the music of Dick Gaughan, folk singer, last night, I may have had two finished objects to show you. Watch this space over the next few days, I'm aiming for the weekend for proper pix. x K

Lovin' this brooch as a clasp for my Deep.
Got lots of compliments and sympathy at today's Glasgow knitting meetup at the Tramway. Thanks folks. :-)

Bought this brooch at Creative Stitches and Hobbycrafts last October. Sorry, can't remember the stallholder's name at present.

Another ball down the line. Ball one gave me seven rows of leaves, ball two just three. Up to row 100 now and 207 stitches. Starting to sweat now as I've only got one ball left. May be end up a "shawlette".  

Thank-you and boo-hoo.

Thank-you very much for al l the lovely comments about my Deep bolero, you are very kind.
The bad news is I'm going to have to send it off to Rowan for investigation because of the colour loss.
I'm not looking forward to this at all, but I'm trying to look on the bright side- guess it hasn't been weather for a summer top anyway, and won't be anytime soon.
They say that if there is a major problem with it they will refund the cost of the yarn and either give me a voucher as a good-will gesture, or my cardie back.
I want my cardie! I spent plenty of time on that and don't want to say goodbye so soon!
I won't get a chance to send it off for a few days anyway, but I'll keep you posted on the outcome.

To keep my mind off it, I have been....knitting, wouldn't ya know? I decided on some Rowan Kid Classic as the yarn of choice for my non-babyish version of the Fibertrends Lace Leaf Shawl. I enjoyed working with this yarn when doing Emmeline last year and I think I have enough in the stash. The good thing about starting with just a few stitches and then building up is that if you run short of yarn, or think it's big enough, or get bored, you can stop. At the moment, after one ball, it is "kerchief" size, but I'm definitely up for keeping going for a good while yet.
I am really enjoying this pattern, and am finding the chart straightforward to follow. I was never a great chart-lover, but I'm really warming to them.
One thing I love about this pattern is that it tells you exactly what to do, it doesn't make assumptions and it doesn't do that thing where lace patterns say something like, "if you do not have enough stitches to work the double-decrease then do not work the corresponding yarn over" and stuff. It tells you exactly how to work the edge stitches, which is just what I need.
Really enjoying it so far, and full of bright ideas for my Rowan International Hearth and Home exchange.
Thanks again for the lovely comments about Deep.

This (tiny version of Leaf Lace Shawl- the nearest thing I come to a swatch.)