My Hair colour should be

PINK!!! Maybe not! Although it has been funky in its time, just not recently. I'm sure I used to be hyper, insane and a boatlad of fun, but I'm not sure that's me at the moment - stressed out, headless chicken mother of two toddlers!

Your Hair Should Be Pink

Hyper, insane, and a boatload of fun.You're a traveling party that everyone loves to follow.

What's" Your Funky Inner Hair Color?

On the exciting front, I'm off to Chicago for a fun filled long weekend with hubby. I've checked out all the knitting stores in the vicinity. Now I just need to lose the hubby for a few hours. Any ideas..........

A Post about an FO

I have given up on knitting the Opal socks for hubbies birthday. I was knitting it wrong, all wrong, so wrong that I don't even want to talk about it. Suffice to say, it's been frogged and I will try it again but only after a quick break. Which brings me to a nice big chunky knit instead. I decided to knit him a scarf for his birthday. 8mm needles, 2 balls of Rowan Chunky print, and a nice simple basket weave pattern. Super quick and hey presto- nice masculine scarf. Here's hubby posing for the camera. Here's a close up of the basket weave. I think I should done a small border for a neater edge but I think it could be the thick and thin effect of the Chunky print yarn. Overall I am pleased with it and he's happy too. (He did get it a bit earlier than his actual birthday becos it is absolutely freezing in cold, wet, foggy London. Also we are off to Chicago in 2 weeks time and I wanted to have it done before then.)

Temptations

The anticipation and excitement of going to Ally Pally could be felt by 7 am this morning. I was up bright and early to make sure I packed everything I needed for the day. Show guide, wallet, cheque book, bottle of water, something to knit on the train journey, snacks and notes on what I wanted to knit so I knew what to buy. You might have guessed what I forgot on the list already. I, however, did not realise this until I got out at Wood Green. You guessed it - my ticket which I purchased in advance!!! Doh! Double Doh! I couldn't just turn around and go home to get it. The journey took about an hour. I had to drop the kids off at the nursery (Keira is not used to being left on her own with strangers, and I had to spend half an hour settling her in! Not including two 2 hour sessions earlier in the week already). Oh well, there goes £12 on a second ticket. But this means I could go again on Sunday! Hurray!

I got to meet the lovely Kerrie in the flesh. It certainly feels strange to meet someone in person when you know them from the internet. There were lots of gorgeous yarn on display. I succumbed to some HipKnits silk in the Stormy colourway, also 1 skein of sari yarn to experiment with and a silk flower kit. (See purchases below). Kerrie was worried about the silk selling out before Sunday arrives, no wonder, they are gorgeous. Lovely to feel and gorgeous colourways. In my excitement, I forgot to take any photos. Oops.

I also got to meet and chat with Nicky Epstein, who was very friendly and helpful. She signed copies of my purchases and posed for photographs, which I can't seeem to show because Blogger won't let me!!! AAARRRGGGGHHHHHH!

It was also nice to chat to chat to people where you have been buying from, like Get Knitted, Debbie Bliss, Web of Wool and plenty more. Apart from the silk yarn, I loved the yarns from Kaalund Yarns. Both the girls Kirsty and Jodie were fantastic. I came away with 2 skeins of Expressions, one in Waterlily and one in Anemone. What shall I do with them?
I set my self budget for the day and was very glad I didn't over spend. Apart fromwhat I already mentioned, I also bought some sock yarn from Web of Wool. The selection was tremendous.

I had a fabulous day and will definitely go again next year. (I might still go on Sunday as I still have a ticket to use up!)

Rebecca shrug almost complete

It's amazing what you can find in the house that will come in useful. Take for example, the kid's foam number blocks. Great as a blocking board. All bits of the shrug knitted and washed and pinned out. Now to find the energy to sew it up. But I'm just too excited to do that at the moment. I need to do a lot of research on what I want to buy at Ally Pally tomorrow. So far, I have had to revise my budget ever upwards! Shhh..... nobody tell my hubby!!!!

Ally Pally

I am very excited about the Knitting and Stitching show at Ally Pally. I'm going on Friday. Kids are booked into the full day nursery. Camera is fully charged. Filling up my notebook with ideas and stash enhancement possiblities. The show guide arrived on Saturday and I'm in the process of doing my research. I know for a fact, I'm not only going to be buying yarn/pattern books/knitting needles, I'll be buying beads, fabrics and all manner of other paraphernalia.

The only thing to decide is how much my budget is for the day so that I can overspend!

Only 3 more days to go .............

Where to buy Japanese craft books

I had a query on how to obtain Japanese craft books. I usually buy mine when I'm visiting Malaysia or Singapore where I have family. That is not very useful if you live all the way here in the UK. Recently, I have been getting them from a great website called Yesasia.com (the Oriental version of Amazon). Yesasia is much easier to use than Amazon Japan in that it's in English. If you know the ISBN of the book, then it becomes much easier to purchase.

There is also a great website called Crafting Japanese set up by Maitreya, which is a resource for people who collect japanese craft books. Oh yes, we do collect them. Once you start, it becomes difficult to stop. Also you get to see loads of books that you never knew existed. There's also a guide on how to buy on the site. Go check it out!

I hope my links work as I've really not tried to link before. Let me know.

PS: There aren't too many places to buy Japanese craft books in London. There is a good bookstore in the Japan Centre on Picadilly Circus but their craft book selection is limited. The best bet is still the Net.

Progress report

Remember a few weeks back when I injured my hand playing netball and couldn't really knit for too long. That's healed. Well this week, I twisted my ankle really badly so I can't walk! Great. Does anybody realise how difficult it is to have 2 young children and not being able to walk! My husband and I don't have any family who live nearby either (parents and siblings are in Switzerland, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore & Australia). I don't have the luxury of a nanny either. Thankfully, hubby could work from home and has been a godsend. *Mwah* astral kisses your way!

But he had to go back to work today and thankfully I'm feeling a lot better. The ankle is the size of a plum and in a lovely shade of purple. I did consider doing a self potrait Tuesday but decided against it! Hubby said it was way too gross.

However, I have had a lot of time to knit, including some time in A&E waiting for an x-ray. After all the horror stories on waiting times, I was seen and sent home in less than 45 minutes. So I got approximately 2 rows completed on Clapotis (second time around). I'm still on the increase rows. It's got the slight feeling of been there, done that. So am slightly unmotivated with it.

However, more progress has been made on my shrug. I have completed the back, one sleeve and I have started the second sleeve. Had to fudge the pattern slightly as my row gauge was slightly out. We'll have to see how it turns out. I'm hoping to complete this soon as I have loads of new projects which I want to start. More about that soon.

Barbie dolls

Ever since I was a little girl, I have always loved barbie dolls. But having 2 sisters and a mum who hates spending money on junk, we had to share the dolls and make clothes and furniture for the dolls. If my mum hasn't thrown it away yet, there is a box in KL, Malaysia with 3 bedraggled barbie dolls, clothes and furniture. Maybe I should get it shipped to me here... hmmm..... now there's an idea.

Well this brings me to what I was going to blog about. Japanese craft books on clothes making for Barbie dolls. The ISBN of this book is 4579109821. This has to be my favourite book. The dresses in it are just gorgeous. If only it was life size, I would wear them. (No not make them as I haven't even managed to make any for my barbie doll - sorry not mine, my daughter's). These dresses are sized for silkstone dolls which have slightly different dimensions to regular Barbie dolls.

Retro Knit & Crochet

I just wanted to share some pictures from a Japanese knit/crochet craft book from the late 70's which I just love. There some examples which I must have worn as child of the 70's. Apologies, it doesn't have a cover or an ISBN number. I'd like to make the little red/pink dress on the left. Just fab!
Crochet swimwear - I just love it! Maybe by next summer, there'll be an FO on this blog on crochet swimwear.
Next up is a crochet beach cover up/ hoodie. I have actually completed the one on the right. So here are some pics on my effort. Doesn't Keira look cute modelling it! I started this in February when I was in Malaysia visiting my parents and decieded to check out the LYS. This is knitted in Gedifra cotton in cream and red. This is my first crochet project in a long time.

Completed projects from Rowan Babies

Truth be told - I really only picked my knitting needles again (after an 18 year break) when I found out I was pregnant. So three years ago, I started knitting again. Most of my projects tended to be stuff for the children. Sweaters, hats, scarves and toys - so far. Knitting for the kids is brilliant for me - short attention span, fast completion time. (Although, one or two projects have stalled).

This is one of my first "big" knits. Raglan sweater from Debbie Bliss The Baby Knits Book. It was super easy to knit and super quick too. If I remember correctly, it was in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino aran. ( I know, it's not technically from Rowan Babies!!). It's being modeled by Keira, although I knitted it for her elder brother.

She has been super patient modelling all the different knitted items today. This next knit is from Rowan Babies. It's Relish and knitted in Rowan Wool Cotton in shade 951 Tender. This was completed about a year ago when she was only a little baby.

The next picture is another poncho, Dapple, again from Rowan Babies. It's knitted in All Seasons Cotton in a lilac colour. Apologies, I have forgotten the shade and number. It's knitted in the 2 -3 year old size, hence it's looking a bit big. But that's the great thing about poncho's. Now that the weather is changing, it will be perfect!

Next up is Streamer, also from Rowan Babies. It's knitted in 4-ply soft. The only problem with knitting in 4-ply soft is that it does take a long time to knit. But as the name suggests, it is lovely and soft.

Lastly for today, this is Husky in Rowan Big Wool inRascal. I do love knitting children's knits in Big Wool. It took absolutely no time at all. (Even for me, and I take forever with most items).

Here ends my little promotion of Rowan Babies. I do knit from other publications apart from Rowan, honest.

Going slow on the knitting

I have had to go slow on the knitting. If anyone recalls, I started playing netball in a competitive netball league (this doesn't mean I'm good, I just run around like a headless chicken), well I got a slight injury on my little finger on my right hand. The knuckle is swollen and is slightly bruised. I have to say I got away lightly as my teammate has a bad strain on her ankle. She is immoble and is on crutches. She has 16 month old twins and and a three year old! OMG!!

I'm going on a break for a few days on the knitting. But I will try and photograph and detail some of my completed projects, more Japanese craft books and sort out my yarn stash. I have a feeling i'm going to have to liberate some of them.

I'm still knitting

I visited Loop last week. It's a fairly new yarn store in Islington. They have an amazing amount of fantastic yarn. I didn't buy any yarn but I did buy the new Rebecca magazine no 30 and a Rebecca special (30 designs using GGH Soft kid). There are so many fabulous knits which I want to try. (When I have the time!!!)I have decided to knit design 25, a shrug with long sleeves. I'm knitting it in Jaeger Mohair in grey. It's been an easy knit and the back is almost completed. Just two sleeves and and some ribbing and it's done. Here's the first progress shot.

RIP Clapotis

There is no photo to this post because I have had to rip (RIP) back Clapotis all the way to nothing (NOTHING!!!!) because I miscalculated somewhere along the way. When I dropped stitches, it just didn't match up to the little holes. Arrggghhh!!!!! I was on the start of my fifth ball when I realised this. I am a complete doofus!!!! AAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHHHH!!!!!!

Just think of the hours wasted!

On a good note, I have decided to bite the bullet and try my hand at sock knitting. I have to say, on the whole I am getting the hang of four needle knitting. Unfortunately, I can't post any pictures because it's my hubbies birthday prezzie (just in case he is looking at this blog.)

Going forward, this blog may also contain some details about how my netball team is doing. My friend and I decided to start a netball team and play competitively in a local league. We have had a lot of fun recruiting members (from 3 team players only to having to reject 27 others because we were over subscribed). We now have a fully committed team of 15 players. Our first match starts on Monday 5 September. I'll let you have progres reports.

Needlework bags

This is a great book on bags - making them and decorating them. And no, I have not had the chance to try it out yet, eventhough I have had it for over a year (at least). The ISBN is 4579107926.

Basically, there are six different bag shapes to make in whatever fabric takes your fancy. Then you have a choice of decorating them either in beads, ribbon, cord, applique and wool. These are a few of the examples from the book.

Maybe one day soon, I'll post a bag I have made ;)

Felt mascot book

This book has a slightly more commercial feel as it has little mascot dolls of Hello Kitty, Miffy (?) - the cute little rabbit, the little blue haired angel and the little red haired angel and various others. ( I would list them but as you can see I don't really know their names apart from Hello Kitty.) Anyhow, the ISBN of this book is 4834721256.
Here are some other projects included in the book.

Japanese crochet basics book

This is an amazing book on the basics of reading Japanese crochet symbols. I get very confused between English and American descriptions because a double crochet is actually a single crochet in English or American, see I can't even remember which. This book just shows the symbol and how to make it. Voila, pattern interpreted. Easy peasy.

The ISBN of the book is 4529030474

More books

This book has a more traditional feel. The dolls are dressed in kimonos and playing with traditional toys and musical instruments. The ISBN is 4529034895. If I could get my hands on some lovely Japanese fabrics, I think I would make some of these lovely dolls. (Sorry about the flash in the pics.) But the project I love is the sushi made from traditional Japanese fabrics. Almost gorgeous enough to eat. Just yummy!

Japanese craft books

Everyone seems to have a collection of Japanese craft books. I've been using Japanese crochet and knitting books from the late 70's and early 80's which belonged to my aunt in Malaysia. I'll need to persuade her to send me her copies as she doesn't knit or crochet. I have just remembered that I have crocheted a hoodie for lil man last summer. I must photograph it for this blog. Tomorrow.
Anyway on to my collection. Over the next few days, I'll try and post my collection. This is a predominantly felt mascot doll book. My Wild West Month of softie came from this book. The ISBN is 4277540392. This is the original cowboy together with a reluctant donkey/horse. It obviously doesn't have the floppy neck syndrome of my doll. And here is my version. For more details, check out my blog from a few days ago.



These next 2 dolls are really on my next to do list. (Actually more the next 20th in line of projects!)

New project Clapotis

I just noticed an inconsistency in my previous blog. I didn't finish Branching out on my drive to Cornwall. I had already finished it. I just blocked it last week.

However, I was knitting a new project on my journey. It's Clapotis, pattern from Knitty. It's the one everyone has knitted. Better late than never. The yarn is Adriafil Globe, a bargain buy of £1 per ball from I forget where (sorry). I have to say I'm really enjoying knitting with this yarn. Two weeks of knitting (and everything else that I do) and I am all done with the increases. Just 11 more increases to complete on the straight part and then I am done. (Oh that will probably take 2, maybe 3 months at my rate. Watch this space.)

Meet Flash Harry

Please say a big hello to Flash Harry, my submission to this month's MOS Wild West Theme. He's a cowboy, a sheriff no less. He is made predominantly from felt but has a cotton shirt and bandanna. He was an inspiration from a Japanese craft book (details in another post). He's got natty stetson which covers up the fact I made his hair in dark navy blue rather than black. (Memo to self - must sort out yarn stash!) He's got a happy persona because Aidan didn't want him with an angry face or sad face. Hubby says Flash Harry is not quite John Wayne more Village People. Here he is showing off his badge and holster. (Is it me or this picture a bit blurry?)


I had a lot of fun making him and it took about a week to complete. There is a slight design fault where his head is a bit floppy even after a reinforcement. I'll have to try again.

Now I have to get back to my knitting. Lots of projects to complete.