Happy Christmas!

Won't be near a PC for a few days so I'll take the chance now to wish you and yours a Happy Christmas.

Best wishes to you all,

Kathleen xxx

Internet returns

The internet connection problems weren't as serious as first feared, so here I am back again.
Firstly, I've decided to sew in the ends of Clapotis and wear it unblocked for a little while till I see how I like it. Then shortly when it needs its first wash I'll decide whether to block or not.
Now, here are some pictures of Miller being worn. Yes, THAT Miller, the one with the bunchy sleeves. In my version anyway. Got good feedback about it at our stitching session last Sunday, anyway. It was a special get-together to give our friend Midsummer Night's Knitter a fond farewell as she prepares to set up a new life in Zurich. There will be more to be said about that nearer the time, but time's moving very quickly!

Internet troubles

Still surviving and thriving but I have internet connection problems so I won't be around for a few days.
More time to knit I suppose.
Enjoy your preparations. x K

Two finished objects

After a dismal day weather-wise I decided I couldn't hold off any longer before showing you Miller, which has been sitting sewn up, blocked, ends sewn in and all that jazz for days.
I've been waiting for a day with some sunlight, hell I'd have settled for daylight to get out and take some snaps in the park, but no joy.
Overall I'm happy with in and will get lots of wear out of it even though the fit of the arms is a bit funny, I think erratic blocking is to blame here. I hope to give you some shots of it on and some shots showing the details, but I'll have to wait for a change in the weather. We had snow tonight, but it didn't lie before being washed away by sleet.
Looking on the bright side, being indoors all day did give me the opportunity to finish off my Clapotis, which is an altogether more glamorous proposition.
Here are some sneak previews. These pictures show it unblocked, no ends sewn in or anything. I've really enjoyed making this one, and wouldn't rule out making another in the future, perhaps as a gift.
On thing which has really grown on me as the scarf itself has grown, is the appearance of the wrong side. There's something appealing about the change in texture on that side, you can see it in the second picture.
I would also say the Mirasol Hacho yarn has been a dream to knit with, once the scarf is washed and blocked I'll tell you how it holds up.

One last thing,
DON'T FORGET TO VOTE IN THE ST. ANDREW'S DAY POLL, it will be coming to a close soon.
THANK YOU !

Happy Knitting, Kathleen x

Happy St. Andrew's Day!

Happy St. Andrew's Day everyone!

A special shout goes out to all Scots, Greeks, Russians and people called Andrew.

Don't forget to take part in the exciting St. Andrew's Day Quiz.

Kathleen x

On the last lap...again.

Hello peeps, I think that after some false starts I am finally on the last lap with Miller from Rowan's A Yorkshire Fable.

It's the one on the right of the picture there.

It hasn't been a particulary inspiring knit, being miles of stocking stitch in a very "rustic" yarn but I'm quite sure I'll get plenty of wear from it this winter once I've let it dry and got it all sewn together. I can't give you a blocking or progress shot, me being in Scotland, and the camera being in England, but I can give you this archive shot in the meantime.

It's a Kim Hargreaves design and I've been making it in mostly Harris Tweed and Knitwear Harris Wool, with the accents done in Rowan Scottish Tweed.

I'm off to blow on the pieces to see if they'll dry any quicker.

Do you know the best bit about the knitting on this being finished? I can take something different with me to the Stitching group on Tuesday if I can make it along :-)

I'm gonna make me some patchwork!

I've looked into my crystal ball and I foresee lots of cutting out of hexagons this weekend.

Here are the Christmassy fabrics I got at the SECC Hobbycrafts Fair a fortnight ago, and I'll be using a selection of them to make a Christmas thingy. I'm thinking some kind of Grandma's Flower Garden type scenario with big blocks. Maybe handling big hexagons will be less fiddly than handling small hexagons as I've never done anything like this before.

If you don't know what a Grandma or Grandmother's Flower Garden looks like, I'm sorry, I'm not going to link to one because I did a search and got the most intricate, hand-stitched Amish one, genuinely done from scraps, which would take your breath away and I don't want to compare my "efforts" to that!

At the moment I'm not thinking of quilting the work once it's finished, but hey, we are still at the "First catch your fabric" stage, and things may change.
Happy Crafting x K.

Have you got a better idea now?

Ok, you didn't get it, my Mirasol yarn is going to become a narrower version of the ever-popular Clapotis!

http://www.knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/PATTclapotis.html

Who says I succumb to the power of subliminal advertising?

Did you know that on Ravelry there are *2007 finished Clapotis, 53 frogged, 102 hibernating, 509 in progress, and 1832 in queues waiting to be started? Phenomenal. And that's just on Ravelry!

*All prices correct at time of going to press.

I picked up a great tip actually- instead of using tons of stitch markers I am using a purl stitch, I am only using a marker for the start and end of each row until the pattern gets established.

I also got hold of a great tick-sheet. Do this, do that, now do this, repeat. It's certainly made things a lot easier because I never found that a very accessible pattern, always found it awkward the way the photos cut across the text etc. Much like my blog really, although I always spend time trying things out and previewing. The published version never looks anything like the preview.

Enough moaning, off to do a few rows then getting together with family. Yay!

Some yarns are so lovely...

...you could just wear the skein round your neck as a necklace.

Mirasol Hacho x 4 skeins

Sapphire-Jade #304

Bought at John Lewis.

I wonder, I just wonder if you can guess what it's going to become?

October Holiday

Specks on the landscape!


Can you DH in silhouette at the top of the hill, looking for an ideal picnic spot?

Can you see me making my way up the hill in my pumpkin jumper?

I had just stopped to look at the sea birds, good move if you're out of breath.

Can you see DH's shadow as he waits at the top for me?

We often find the weather during the October week and at Easter better than during the actual summer holidays, for some reason.

Happy Knitting! x K

Oak Leaf Shawl

Here's the finished Oak Leaf (Shoulder) Shawl kicking its way through the autumn leaves in Alexandra Park.
This is going to be a present for my sister who is making a good recovery from a recent operation.
She tells me she has been getting out for a short walk every day so hopefully she can wear this to keep away the autumn draughts, without having too much bulk around the neck- see, you can make the fact it's tiny sound almost deliberate, with a bit of reframing!
You can see it looks quite snuggerific on my jacket and I quite like the cowl thing that's happening in the second picture.
I am a much bigger build than my sister, so it will drape around her neck and a little bit of shoulder just nicely.
Thank you for all your kind comments so far. x K

Sneak preview

Sneak preview of Oak Leaf Evening Shawl blocking on the trusty white towel.



It's finished, I love it, and it's t-i-n-y!

How come....?

How come I checked out the yardage required for the Oak Leaf Evening Shawl,
and found it to be 500-600 yards,
which meant I didn't have anything suitable in the stash,
so went out and bought 5 balls of Rowan Tapestry (5 x 120m),
knitted the shawl (which is tiny)
and was left with two balls and two 2/3 balls
(i.e. 3 and 1/3 balls left)?????

Who said yarn substitution was easy?

Bet you I had something just dandy in the stash all along!
Off to find measuring tape to do some calculations.

Madonna of the Yarn Winder

Leonardo's da Vinci's stolen Madonna of the Yarn Winder has been recovered!

You've got to love a painting called Madonna with the Yarn Winder, and this is particularly good for regular visitors to Dumfries and Galloway.

See the report on the BBC.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7029567.stm

Beautiful things

How do you like my two new yarn purchases?

Shame you can't touch them because they feel brilliant.

Shame you can't sniff them, well, because more of us do than the public at large would tend to realise :-)

They are Old Maiden Aunt Laceweight Merino in Bramble Jelly and Neptune's Daughter colourways and they have a whopping 1600 yarns per skein.

Purchased from here .

And I am loving Ravelry. What a genius idea.

I can foresee some gorgeous shawls in the future.

European Day of Languages

At last, something pleasant happening in our new school!

We had fun with Gypsy Kings music in the cafes, flags everywhere, multi-lingual menus, French breakfasts, tapas, Innocent Sangria, poster competitions, ice cream tastings, donations from local supermarkets, internet links with our European neighbours and music music music everywhere.

Great day for a certain person to be starting her German lessons.


And then my mobile got stolen.
Surely we're going to turn a corner in that place sometime soon?

I'm in!

Received my invite for Ravelry last night.

https://www.ravelry.com/account/login

My username is KEDkrafty just to simplify matters.

Hope to "see you in there".

Off to explore my dears, I may be gone some time....

Mighty Oaks ...

...from little acorns grow.

Thanks to India I can now get my head round the main part of the pattern for the Oak Leaf shawl. She patiently sat and tutored me as I had a go at a practice swatch at Sunday's knitting meetup.

I knew she was the very woman to help, having admired her version for some time.

I did my practice swatch in some Rowan Scottish Tweed, shade 29 which I've been using as a contrast on Miller from A Yorkshire Fable under India's firm but caring gaze. The Scottish Tweed looks nothing like the colour in the Rowan pop-

up and would actually have been ideal for the shawl, except I needed to keep it for the rest of the detail on my Miller.

So, I've plumped for this lovely blend of greens and rusts in the "Rustic" colourway of Rowan Tapestry and I think they really suit this pattern, resembling as it does an autumnal oak tree on the turn. And yes, the similarity between the colours of this, and the Green Man in the last post, are not lost on me.

I am now motoring with this, but I must say I could've sat poring over the pattern until doomsday without the penny dropping.

Thank goodness for knitting friends who can show you the ropes. @-;---

Birthday Greetings!

We just celebrated my friend Roddy's 40th birthday down at Balcary Bay.
The photo shows my DH, moi, the birthday boy and our friend Deborah, from left to right.
We had some cake and wine to celebrate the actual day, then went out to dinner with some more of R's friends and relations to honour the occasion a couple of days later.
The cake was quite cool, shaped like a bottle of vintage bubbly, and we did take some photos, just not on my camera.
Many Happy Returns, auld yin!
As most of you love crafts, D has allowed me to show you the gift she laboriously made for R, and believe it or not, she is not sworn off cross stitch for life, she has started a kit for herself, which is a very rare occurence!

Green Man Cross Stitch

Deborah's gift to Roddy was this Green Man Cross Stitch which has taken many a month as you can imagine, and has travelled many a mile! One "challenge" with it was how to keep the work-rate up on it while not giving the game away as to what the picture was, so D had to resort to working on it at all sorts of hours and in all sorts of locations to make sure it got done. R has a great interest in the Green Man plus he knows how much work goes into cross stitch so he absolutely loved his present. Expletives were flying about when he saw the finished article!

Green Man Cross Stitch

If memory serves there were 200 stitches across and over 200 down. To put it another way; there are over forty thousand cross stitches in this piece! Each stitch is two strokes so that's eighty thousand stitches. Unbelievable! I didn't see the finished piece before it went to the framer's as D was on a tight deadline, but I did see the back while it was in progress. You want to have seen the workmanship.

Green Man Chart

This is the guide photo on the front of the pattern.
There were about a dozen pages worth of chart, and over 40 shades of cotton used. How Debbie could tell the difference between the very subtly different shades defies belief.

Yummy

Berries galore!
This time it's strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries and redcurrants.
Shame they're not called redberries.
Summer pudding, I approve.
Yum yum yum.

This is the last word...

...about the lilies I promise!
Every last one of the buds opened, I can't believe it.
I bought these lilies twelve days ago.
What a profusion of blooms.
I think this is one of the best fivers I have ever spent in my life.

And now, I promise, I'm so over the lilies.
May even blog about knitting one day soon, ya never know :-)

One last bud is unopened on the stem second from the right.
Handling the flowers to pose this picture caused the bud to open.