My Moss Stitch Scarf

a simple scarf knit for my OH - not too fussy or fancy... and very quick to knit

here is my pattern

yarn: 4.5 balls sublime merino dk

(double strands to make a chunky gauge)

8mm needles

CO 23 stitches

6x rows moss stitch

knit to desired length knitting each row as follows:

4 moss stitch 15 stocking st 4 moss stitch

Finish with 6 rows moss stitch and CO

Vintage Knits

yesterday i was searching for a Rowan Vintage knits book to have a sneaky peak and see if there were any classic knits I liked. and look what I came across........

this is an advert for Boeing from the 1950's, when you could still knit on a plane and when knitting needles were not associated with the threat of terrorism.

look at the mans face in the picture he does look slightly uneasy !....... perhaps somebody should tell her about the Sweater Curse!

Camel Island

I am back to feeling nearly my old self after something sad happened in July.

No more words to say but Simon says it all here:

With this poignant image from South Shields "Camel Island"

My list

Do you ever have thoughts and ideas spinning around in your head just waiting for the right moment or for inspiration to strike?

here is my list of "things" in a totally random out of my head order

1. Obsession with Alexander Henry fabrics. I haven't bought any yet but I day dream about having sewing skills that could do wonders with Bewitched and The Ghastlies

2. Finishing Embrace - just reached the under arm cast off on the last section - can I finish it tonight? Update 18/9 finished !

3. Sorting out the lace cast on on said Embrace as fronts and back look messy now - can I be bothered to pick up the stitches on the edges and cast them off again? Update no way can I be bothered

4. Finishing OH's scarf - grey merino, 22 stitches on a 8mm needle why isn't it done yet ......!!! Arghhhhh Finished 19/9 - looks good and he likes it

5. Starting nice chunky polo neck jumper in pink as always for DD. No issue there right ? Yes! am thinking could I do back and front simultaneously on circulars to avoid those bulky seams ? hmm another sleepless night I fear!

6. Then could I make a vibrant red quilt for my bed ? where would I get red fabric from and should I put 2 different fabrics together to make it double sided? And when would I do this?

7. What shall i make with the new Debbie Stoller yarn at Ring a Rosie ???

And would my mum like the orange yarn called Clementine for Christmas?





8. Lots and lots of boring work

9. Busy busy home and kids

10. Will I lose a pound when I go to Slimming world tomorrow? 0.5lb boo hoo will keep trying for next week. 0.5 lb hardly seems worth it. Still 2.5lbs in total

11. Cool Halloween outfits for all of us.

12. A winter coat

Wow reading this back I sound totally self obsessed! Believe me, I'm not just too much to do and soooo little time! I'll let you know how I get on!

Happy Birthday - part 1

I had 3 books on my wish list for ages.

2 came in time for my birthday

Vogue Sock Knitting - which is a great book, although i haven't had huge success with socks I am hoping this is what I've been missing. the book came highly recommended.

Crafty Minx - I have had my eye on since being in Oz at Christmas - it only just got published here in April. A nice book to look through with lots of stitchy ideas

And finally you might have spotted an EMPTY box of Ferrero Rocher - love these. I got 2 boxes for my birthday - which means I ate 48 in 48hrs although actually my average is 24 in an hour - (LOL that is absolutely shocking!!!) - I just googled ferrero rocher calories and there is 69 per chocolate!!!!! A mind boggling 3,312 calories!

Happy Birthday - part 2

a little peek at some of the knitty presents I received

This was from my sis in Australia who went to my favourite Brisbane yarn store, Tangled Yarns in Newstead. I have a Laura Chau macro lace pattern and some beautiful Cascade yarn in fuchsia pink. Thanks Sis!

Happy Birthday

on friday it was my birthday (yay!!!)



i had a great day from start to finish








see if you can guess my favourite Cath Kidston pattern from the cake (I made) and my presents (OH did very well!)

Little Miss Sublime

A week ago I finished Little Miss Kelly for my own little Miss. I am pleased with how it turned out. The pattern is from "The Second Sublime Double Knitting Book" I used 5 balls of Sublime extra fine merino wool DK in barbie pink - not the official colourway name! All purchased from Ring a Rosie - a happy knit - i like knitting in pink!

I would knit it again but would make a few mods - knit an extra inch on the length so it lasts a little longer and knit the fronts and border up to the ties all in one rather than left on a holder to knit later.
I left off the sleeve tabs shown in actual pattern, personal preference - aka last to do in the pattern and I couldn't be bothered!

Most importantly the Little Miss verdict was good.

Late night at the Discovery

last night i was back at the Discovery Museum because Newcastle was hosting a series of Late Nights and we went up to the top floor where there were giant games to play. After 8 track Scalextric and giant Jenga we had a quick look to see if any knitting was left - we spotted some grapes, a banana and an apple hanging in the branches........

Science Fest : the big reveal

so today was the day for the Newcastle Science Fest guerilla knitting big reveal and what a beautiful spring day it was too.

it was a full family outing with partner in crime my MIL, and DD, DS, OH and FIL for much needed step ladder back up. we met up at the Centre for Life as planned at 11am with lots of other knitters then headed up to the Discovery Museum to complete our masterpiece.

we pretty much had the carpark to ourselves apart from the odd bemused passer by who stopped to appeciate our "art work" and we set about covering the our trees with metres of knitting
and fruit; bananas, lemons, limes, apples, oranges and even grapes!






we added labels to some of the pieces to thank all our contributers and to encourage people to leave the knitting in palce for everyone to appreciate. ds designed lots of these, check out the message
we knitted metres and metres of widths for the tree trunks and immediately spotted that my original measurements were slightly out ! but at least that meant we had some spare to decorate well pretty much everything so the lamposts got a make over too!
finished at last! pleased and happy with the overall effect and the lovely bright colours against the stark bare winter trees.



and time for football for some!


thank you thank you thank you to everyone that helped or contributed to our not so little project.

Newcastle Science Festival

soooo, i know people have mixed views about the point of community knitting projects like Coat For a Boat & the Gingerbread house. i.e "What's the point?".

personally whilst its not something i would do all the time i enjoy these projects as a bit of a diversion, a chance to meet more like minded people (and I admit, for my 5 minutes of fame!)

when i saw the post on the Ravelry North East Yarn fiends group from the Science Festival organiser i knew i wanted to be involved.

we have chosen 2 (in hindsight a bit big) trees outside the Discovery Museum, Newcastle to "yarn bomb" - so far we have knit.....

18 1m x 30cm lengths to cover the trunk
10 pieces of fruit for the branches
5m of finger knitting for the branches
10 pom poms for the branches
1 newcastle science fest sign 1m x 70cm (nearly finished!!!)

much child labour has been involved and help from non crafty friends to outsource more pom poms

(don't worry, i won't be hanging the cat in the tree. he's enormous - would probably break a branch!)

there has been a huge amount of effort and i can't wait to put our knitting in place on Sunday evening. more pictures will be posted but here are a few......

Not Knitting

not knitting 1

every now and again i venture into other crafty worlds

big in my world at the moment is making my own big knitting needles.

i got introduced to big knitting after helping on a Coat for a Boat last year and again at the Harrogate Knitting show.

since i now have a pair of big needles, i set about making my own bespoke ones and happily chisel and sand away for hours. i now have about 12 pairs - 6mm, 18mm and 30mm, and sawdust in my hair! right now i'm happy just to look at them - makes a change to the usual vase of lilys. but i may yet venture into the world of ETSY








not knitting 2 - Sewing!!!


I like my sewing machine but i am limited to squares or rectangles - nothing complicated.
So other projects have been dog bed covers and cushions.
I saw this Hungry Caterpillar material at a lovely fabric shop in Whitby , the whole piece (double sided) was only £5.50. I made a nice rectangular (of course) cushion for my MIL's play group. It was a Sunday morning, still in pyjamas, 30min project.

Half Term Projects

Half term for mean a few days off and a stay in Whitby for a short break. It was walks by day and knitting, telly & wine by night

I have been getting behind in my crafty projects , and as I am a Project Manager in real life used these skills for my knitting UFO's - this meant knitting 7-8pm Malabrigio Whisper then 8-9pm twilleys freedom cardigan etc I was very focussed and not to be distracted. And what a result!

I finally finished Whisper. ok it is only small cardigan - but remember it is lace weight merino, beautifully soft to knit with and only needs 2 skeins. I made some mod's which meant it took me longer to unpick and change as it felts (argh!) but it is sooo soft.








We did lots of muddy walks, onefrom Littlebeck through to
the Falling Foss - past the Hermitage - of course we took
a wrong turn but it was nice to be out in the fresh air seeing little signs of spring like these snowdrops in Little beck forest.












Then look at the snow on the way back on the
North Yorkshire Moors. As my sister said.....
"Frozen Lamb Chops"!!!!!

my guilty pleasure

lucky lucky me

my OH is a the Metro Centre with DD on a Valentine's Day shopping spree and my DS is watching a pantomine with Cubs

its just me, well and 2 dogs, the cat and 4 fish

time to indulge with some trashy tv and another inch on my Whisper sleeve

bliss

sssssssh!

here's my secret progress so far...

My MIL has done 10x more than me!

i have been rubbish at posting this last week after such a promising start to the New Year - but I have been doing lots of secret things I can't tell you about yet.......

i have formed a new group called the Knitting Kninja's - just me and my MIL. Which involved lots of measuring at the Discovery Museum using the kids as a subterfuge.....

Snowballs & pom poms

ok it doesn't take a lot to guess what inspired me to finish the Pom Pom scarf ..... yes the drifts of snow outside my window. easy and quick the project may have been, but this tells you a lot about me. the scarf is a christmas present for my OH's mum which is well overdue!

i keep telling myself you always appreciate gifts more on their own, not lost in the christmas day rush.

that's my story and i'm sticking to it!

O Christmas tree......

my little tree's days have been numbered for a while and I think judging by the drooping branches and wilting needles ... it knows.

so little tree thank you for your 4 weeks of service, your sparkling lights and festive joy and for putting up with the Lego train track running round your feet. and sorry for leaving you on your own for 3 weeks whilst we enjoyed the Australian sun and leaving you to endure the daily tortures of the cat flicking your baubles.

i promise to look after you for the next 11 months living in the garden and water you properly (unlike your predecessors!)

Lovely lovely yarn

as a yarn addict with definitely more addiction than actual skill any holiday or trip to somewhere new requires research into yarn shops within a hour radius.....

some lovely ladies from the Brisbane snb group gave me a list of yarn shops - inthe end I only managed to get to tangled yarns in newstead on the but this is what i got....

malabrigo , malabrigo and a bit more malabrigio.....!

being a US yarn I haven't seen a lot in the UK but heard about it on a lot of podcasts - I am now a convert...

I bought 4 skeins of lace weight - including skeins of the new RAVELRY RED!!!

6 skeins of Worsted in Stone Blue

6 skeins of Silky Merino in lettuce

My treasure is in the photo!

Back to School

back to school today - a day later than everyone else as we are still recovering from the jet lag of our Christmas down under in Australia and still experiencing falling asleep at 7pm only to be awake again at 4am!!!

they were so plesed to see their friends and the snow made the return so much better.

going to finish the unpacking and start looking at the yarn i bought during our trip - saving this moment until there was no one else about!

will add photos later........