No contact

I am out of contact for the next few days - I'm off for my knee surgery tomorrow. Remember 5 months ago when I fell over while skiing and tore my ACL, well I'm having that ACL reconstructed. Sounds painful and I'm sure it will be too.

But don't worry, I've decided to make me feel better by spending far too much money! I've ordered books from Amazon, yarn from all over the world and ebay. There'll be packages waiting for me when I get home in 3/4 days time. That should cheer me up. More photos when I get back.

My baby is 2 today

Another milestone in my baby's life. Keira is 2 today. Here she is being her - sucking her thumb and cuddling her 'loth (cos she can't pronounce cloth!). Oh don't they grow up fast. Love you my lil darling!

Somewhat Cowl completed

Hurray. It's done. Finished. Completed. Here it is! (PS Must remember to wear a black bra!) Sorry the picture isn't too clear, but the weather here is just very patchy. I love it. I will post a little bit more later, I've just had a party for my lil girl who turns 2 tomorrow and I am exhausted!!

Backyard Leaves completed

I am getting very sidetracked with my knitting. I haven't worked on Somewhat Cowl. I do feel guilty, but I have managed to finish one of long outstanding WIP. Here's Backyard Leaves..... (among my camelias, in that 5 second window when the sun was shining. Cos, it ain't doing that now. The weather in London is grey, wet and cold. It's June in a week!)

The first half took some time to complete. But the second half just got completed very speedily. 2 or 3 days at most. I suppose that is what it's like with second sleeves or second socks.

It really looks great, (maybe except where I seamed it badly, but I'm hoping no one is going to notice!). I love it . The Debbie Bliss Cashmerino is very easy to knit with and the finished product looks great. I finished it just in time for the cold weather we are having!!!

The end is near....

I'm nearly finished with my somewhat cowl. I have to admit to slight boredom setting in with the knitting. I have never been more focused and timely with the completion of projects, but I am bored. I love starting projects. It's the finishing that slows me down - a lot! Being focused with finishing is just so not me.

Anyway, here is a progress shot. I have to admit that I love it. The Debbie Bliss Cathay is just gorgeous when knitted up. I think I could knitted this in a slightly smaller size - just a little bagginess in the sleeves and the waist. The only worrying bit is the slight lumpiness on the neckline where I must have picked up the stitches messily. I'm hoping that it would get sorted out if I block it.

I've also just noticed bits of fluff/pils on the body. That would be where I was struggling with the dpns. Those ends just poke through everything and invariably get caught. Hope that would just disappear. I am now knitting the ribbing with 2 circular needles - much easier. Thank goodness.

I know every mother thinks their children are geniuses but here's one of my lil man. In the last 2 months, his drawing and painting skills have improved tremendously. Most of his old pictures are just splodges and squiggles. But recently, you can actually make what his pictures are about. Here is one he calls - Nightsky. That's him and his sister under the starry sky and the crescent moon. (Ps - I know it's not much but I think it's great!! I'm his mum, I'm allowed to be biased.)

Let me end today's post on a mini rant. Amazon is bloody infuriating at the moment. Everything I try to order is set to be despatched in mid August, eventhough it states that it is available in 24 hours. Not 1 order, not 2 orders but 3 orders. Maybe the computer is wrong. But there is no way of checking because you can't contact anybody in Amazon. No email, no phone number, no nothing. AAARRRGGGHHHHH! I'm just frustrated because there are some gorgeous new knitting books out there.

Hell... as I know it

I am making good progress on Somewhat Cowl but I'm at the ribbing stage for the cowl. It's been hell, 2x2 hell to be exact. Just seems that I've made no progress whatsoever. And I keep forgetting to take photos. It's too late now. I'll post more tomorrow.

BTW - Thanks for everyone's comments on Bluey. I really enjoyed knitting it and it looks great! It's been getting some wear.

It's also been really nice to have new visitors/commentors to my humble blog. Alice - the kids may look cute but they are a handful!!!! The pattern for the hat is from Lucinda Guy's book - Handknit and things. The stripey beanie from the summer collection. The whole book is so cute!

Eureka - we have cable

I found my USB cable - stuffed into a shoe box, under my bed where the kids have been playing a lot of hide and seek. Hmm, I guess it's not my failing memory that's to blame but inquisitive and helpful children. At least, I have it back.

Now for some photos. First up is my completed Orangina or Blueygina. (Just noticed how untoned my arms look. Must go to the gym !) It's currently unwashed and unblocked but I don't think it'll change too much. It's knitted in Rowan Linen Drape, which is a pain to knit but does create a lovely fabric. You'll notice that the ribbing is in a slightly different colour - it was a different dyelot which I didn't notice until much too late. I was too lazy to rip back and alternate the yarn. So here it is with a new design feature. I love it .
Next up is the Somewhat Cowl. When the photo was taken, I had just completed the raglan increases. In the last few days, I have joined the front and knitted quite a bit of the body. This project is just flying off the needles and I love the Debbie Bliss Cathay. The knitted fabric is so soft and yummy. However, it can be a bit of a pain to knit - slightly slippery and splitty.
Remember my Kool Aid dyeing experiment. Well I managed to knit a beanie hat for the lil man. It's not quite the weather for it, but he loves it all the same. I've now got everyone coming through the US to buy me lots of different Kool Aid flavours, or colours I should say.
I didn't manage to buy any yarn while I was in KL but I did visit the Kinokuniya bookstore. I had a really hard time limiting my purchases. I didn't really see any knitting magazines which I liked but found some crochet/toys and quilting books which I just had to have. Actually, I could have bought another 10 magazines/books, but hubby was around and he would have killed me. Thank goodness for free shipping on YesAsia at the moment.

Where, oh where ......

has my camera lead gone?

I must apologise (again) for the radio silence. I have my reasons. We were flying back from KL to London on May 1. Time difference, jetlag and children were the main reasons for my absence. I also managed to contract some dodgy tummy bug where no food stayed in my tummy. Tiredness and no knitting meant no progress to report. But I have since made some progress - I have finished Orangina (it looks great! - love it), made significant progress on Somewhat Cowl and knitted a hat for lil man. I have photographic evidence but I can't find my camera lead. Aarrghhh!!! You'll just have to take my word for it.

More to report soon.

Sunshine and fun

Many apologies for being out of contact. The kids are suffering slightly from jetlag (7 hours of time difference), so I'm suffering from jetlag too. Also, we spent the last 4 days in a beach resort. We went to Redang Island, off the East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia. We had cheap babysitters (read grandparents!), so we managed to get 2 days of scuba diving. I've even got a bit of a tan. Woo hoo!!! Here's a shot of the beach.
However, I haven't made as much progress on my knitting as I would have liked. 2 hours at an airport, 13 hours of flying. You would have thought plenty of knitting time. Zilch - the kids needed lots of entertaining and space was an issue. I also spent lots of time on dive boats but couldn't do any knitting. I wasn't sure the salty seawater was good for the yarn.

The Orangina is at the ribbing stage. I have joined the 2 sides together and started the ribbing. For some strange reason, I've got an extra stitch. So I managed to lose it again. I'm getting excited about completing this.

I also started the Somewhat Cowl. (Orangina got too big to cart around!). I'm knitting this in Debbie Bliss Cathay in black. I've almost finished one ball of yarn. I really love this yarn. Very silky and soft. However, it is also a bit splitty, like the Linen Drape. Sorry the pictures aren't very clear, black yarn is so difficult to photograph!

Progress and photos

Finally, I remembered to take some photos in the hours of daylight today. Here it is, the front piece of Orangina, completed (I added about 1.5" to the length as it seemed a bit short for my liking) and 5" of the back piece. A bit more progress has been made since the photo was taken. FYI, I'm knitting this in Rowan Linen Drape shade 844 and I'm knitting it in the smallest size. I thought it was going to be big, but I'm glad I checked out the postings and comments on SKC . I think it should fit just fine. Fingers crossed. I might even finish it in time for my trip to KL!!!

Next up - the BoogaJ Kureyon bag which I knitted on holiday but only just managed to felt in the last few days. Firstly, tried the hand felting method. But that wasn't very successful. So, I bunged it into the washing machine, on the hottest setting for 15 minutes with an old cord bag and voila! Boy, does it shrink! I'm super pleased with the results! I'm going to gift it to one of my sisters when I go to KL.That's all for now. More progress soon.

More progress but no photo

There is sunshine here in London (unbelievable, I know - but it's still cold and windy!) but I keep forgetting to take any photos of progress. So I'll just have to prove it on another day. I have finished the front of my Orangina and have started the back. It's now measuring 4 inches. It could be twice as long but I kept messing up the lace. Not that the stitch pattern was difficult, I was just being "DUH!" Anyway, I've gone past that and progress is being made.

On other news, I'm getting really excited about a trip to KL in the next few days. My parents live in KL and I'm going home for family, food and sunshine. What knitting shall I take along with me? Hmm, choices!

Orangina progress

The sun is shining, spring is definitely round the corner. What better time to show off progress on Orangina - on an outdoor shoot, with sunshine and flowers in the background. The Rowan Linen Drape can be a bit slow going (the yarn is a bit splitty! Heaven forbid if you need to frog it!) However, it does have a nice feel all knitted up. One ball of yarn down, 5/6 more to go.
Other progress, the kids and I have been having fun with more Kool Aid dyeing. This is Lil man's colour choice (Berry Blue, Grape, Lemon Lime and Lemonade). Sorry, I haven't got too many in progress shots, I was desperately trying to stop them dipping their fingers into the solution and licking up spilt bits and sucking on the yarn!! Yuck! Also, if this stuff dyes yarn, I'm not sure I'm happy for them to ingest it! Although having said that, I grew up eating and drinking lots of things which are bad for me. Oh well. BTW, the yarn is Cascade 220 in white. I should have enought for a hat and maybe a narrow scarf for the Lil Man!

Kool aid Dyeing and progress

I have been having loads of fun with some Kool Aid and Cygnet Superwash 100% wool. When I was in Denver and Vail, I visited a few supermarkets and found an amazing array of Kool Aid colours and flavours. As I had only read about Kool Aid dyeing, thought I'd try my hand at it. So I got the instructions from Knitty and mixed up a packet of Pink Lemonade and Black Cherry. Washed and prepared the wool and painted it into little stripes. Cooked the yarn in the microwave and Voila! I thought the Black Cherry might be more purpley but it's more burgundy.Here is the resulting yarn. When I wound it up, it looked like raspberry ripple. Hmmm, more fun to be had soon.I finally started up Arisaig again. Spent ages doing the ribbing in tiny 2.25 mm needles and finally moved on to the lacework. 2.75mm are huge in comparison. Here's progress after a few nights. However, I'm going to have to put this down again as I'm starting the SKC knitalong. If I've got the time, I'm going to do both . Somewhat Cowl in Debbie Bliss Cathay in black and Orangina in Rowan Linen drape in Shade 844 Watery. Can't wait to start tomorrow.

Hello - I'm back

Hello world. I'm back in sunny London (NOT!) and reunited with the kids!! Hurray, I've missed them so much. Now that I'm back, I've suddenly realised how much I get to spend on knitting and blogging in actual reality ie not very much! A good four to five hours a day on holiday to half an hour if I'm lucky now.

I've made good progress on my ribbed tank except that, I've now that I've tried it on, I need to reknit the cups. Even my insubstantial boobs need a bit more coverage than I've got at the moment. So, more progress on that soon.

On other progress, I've joined the Sexy Knitters Club and will be joining in on the knitalong. I've got stash yarn for both patterns in knitalong Orangina and Somewhat Cowl and I just need to decide which one to do. Or both, which is another option. If I get a moment, I'll swatch and decide!!!

I almost forgot, I've also been to the Stich and craft show at Olympia. I have to say, this show is nothing compared to Ally Pally. However, that doesn't mean I didn't buy anything. (I'll have to show it another time as I've promised hubby I'm not buying any more yarn. Like really!!) Must go, my half an hour is alomost up!!

Missing my babies

It's been 7 whole days since I've been with my babies and I'm missing them so much. This is the longest time I've been away from them. I really miss the constant chatter, the funny things they say, the singing, the mess, even the whingeing and crying! MISS THEM!!!! Can't wait to get back on Sunday.

I thought I'd keep busy to keep my mind off things. So here's what I made in a few hours. A little halter top for Keira. It's knitted in Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece in a gorgeous baby pink shade called Pink-a-boo. Hmm the photo is not doing it justice. I'll get Keira to pose in it when I get back. Anyway, the pattern is from Barefoot Knits, a gorgeous book for kiddy knits using Cotton Fleece. I'm going to make a pair of matching shorts. But I must go back to the yarn store in Denver to purchase more Cotton Fleece. The yarn is lovely to knit with, but it has a tendency to get a bit splitty if you frog and reknit. The colour palette is extensive and the cost is very reasonable.
Next up, I managed to find another yarn store in Minturn, near Vail. It's called The Yarn Studio and it's owned by Kathy, the most friendly owner with the cutest dogs. It's a treasure trove of books,patterns and yarn!! I was very well restraint and only bought a few magazines (old Interweave knits and Vogue Knitting) and then I found the pattern for Charlotte's Web. I knew I wanted to make that. So before I knew it, there I was choosing all the different Koigu on display. This is what I chose, but I'm not sure if this is my final decision. Let's wait and see.

More progress

I am amazed with myself! I have made loads of progress with my knitting projects. What a difference not having any children around makes to my devoted knitting time. I have finished knitting the Booga bag and have now started on the I-cord strap. I didn't bring my double pointed needles, so here I am doing them on 24" circs. Man, what a pain!!! I managed about 4" and got very bored. Well, I have a long journey in the car later, maybe I'll do some more soon.

So, I thought I'd start something else instead. I have decided to make Polly's Kiri. It's such a gorgeous shawl. The yarn in Kaalund yarns expression in Waterlilly (just think Monet - beautiful colours- sorry, the colours aren't great on the photo). I bought the yarn at the Knitting and Stitching show last October. After a few false starts, I have managed to get into the groove of the knitting. Knitting laceweight yarn is definitely a skill.
Finally, I started making a little tank top for me with Laines Du Nord Bikini in white which I purchased from Loop (on sale) few weeks back. The yarn is 100% Tactel and is very stretchy. I'm kinda making up the pattern as I go along, so we'll have to see how it turns out. The body is knitted in a 1x1 rib and that's it. I haven't quite decided on the rest yet! Hmm
We leave Denver today to drive to Vail. I'm not sure what the Internet access will be like, but I hope to be back soon.

Jetlag and knitting progress

We arrived in Denver late on Wednesday afternoon in a big snow storm. Not really the best of weather, but we arrived safely to our hotel. I managed to take my knitting needles onto the British Airways flight and started on my Booga Bag in Noro Kureyon shade 92 which I had purchased from Yarnsmith a few months back. I've been really looking forward to this project as it's going to be my first felted project. I managed to finish a whole ball of yarn during the flight and realised that I should have packed another ball. Anyway, here's a progress shot..

I've actually made more progress than the picture because I woke up at 3.30am and couldn't get back to sleep again. After an hour of tossing and turning, I got up and decided to carry on knitting. I never liked jetlag but I don't mind it now, if I can get a few hours of knitting!

I love visiting new places and discovering what's on offer. Like most Brits who visit America, we were quite focused on shopping. I was a bit worried about dragging hubby along to yarn stores because I know he'll complain about the amount of yarn I'll buy and the cost of it. He's already complained about the stash! That's the stash that he knows about, little does he know there are other secret stashes around the house. So secret in fact, that I've don't remember what I've done with a big bag of yarn. Well that's another story.

Anyway, I needn't have worried. I was a very good wife and spent 2 hours in a ski shop while he tried on thousands of pairs of ski boots and spent a small fortune on boots and skis. I thought I'd better take the opportunity to drag him around a few yarn stores, he can't complain. I found Ewenique Yarns and Coppelia's Needlepoint, both in central Denver. Both were run by very friendly and helpful ladies. Here is what I came away with. 2 skeins of Cascade 220 in a lovely chocolatey brown, 2 skeins of Koigu in bluey shades, 2 skeins of Jaggerspun laceweight silk and wool in pale pink (gorgeous) and 5 skeins of Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece (wish I bought more!)The books and magazine which I will show more of soon! There are some gorgeous patterns!! On to more stores tomorrow..

Off to Denver & Vail

Just a quick post today. I'm frantically busy sorting out packing and lists and multiple lists for my trip to Denver & Vail. Originally, I'm supposed to be off skiing with hubby and friends, but since my knee injury that's not going to be the case. So, I shall just be partaking in the apres ski bit. Important things to pack, knitting and more knitting, books and lists of yarn stores in Denver & Vail. I'm hoping to get lots of knitting done. Fingers crossed!

I'm also leaving the kids with grandparents for the week. hurray!! I'm hoping they won't be too sad!

Must go, find yarn, patterns etc......

Ps - if you know any good yarn stores in Denver or Vail,let me know!!!

I love blogging!

You know, I love it when people drop in on my lil blog and comment. Welcome and hope you drop in often!

Firstly, something children related. For all new parents, you don't really need to spend lots on money on toys for children. They are totally happy playing with packaging - ribbons (slightly dangerous for the very young), bubble pack (until it pops no more!), wrapping paper (there will be a mess afterwards, my kids love making confetti) and boxes. Boy, they love boxes, especially big ones. Just look at how much fun they are having. With a little bit of imagination, it can be anything.
Next up something knitting related. I started Backyard Leaves from Scarf style a few weeks back. I've just finished the first half and it's been a dream to knit since the false starts. For the record, it's the first complicated thing I've knitted from a chart. It's been ripped at least 3 times. It's been left half ripped in frustation for at least a week. Suddenly, it all made sense and I've been on a groove ever since. Fingers crossed. Btw, I had some help from the bloggers on Scarf style knitalong. That is one huge knit-along!

I knitted the scarf in Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran in blue (sorry I don't have the shade number). The yarn was from my stash. I think I was going to make a sweater for Aidan when he was tiny but as he's 3 now, I'll just use it for me instead. Here's a little close up of the leaves. I have to say, the design is genius! Beautiful construction. I know, I know, it's been said already!

Itchy and Scratchy

The kids are driving me up the wall at the moment! The lil, lil one has chicken pox and boy has she got it bad! She's got spots everywhere and I mean everywhere! Thankfully, it's at the drying up stage. I thought that lil man had it too, but his one spot seems to have disappeared. He's had a fever for the last 3 days so I'm expecting the spots to erupt any day now.

Not much else to report on the knitting front. It's hard to do much when you are entertaining the kids 24/7 in the confines of the house. Thank goodness for cbeebies and videos and playdough and puzzles and toys and crayons and paint..................................

I have managed to finish the Thinking dress and it's a really sweet design. Sorry about the poor quality photo, there's been very little sun in grey and gloomy London! It just needs a button and quick iron into shape and Voila!!
However, this might be the last thing I'll ever knit for the kids. Remember the superhero cape drama, well this lil girl hates wearing dresses. Here she is when I put her in one to go to a party. To the powers that be, I don't really want a tomboy! I want a girly girl, one who likes dolls, and dress up and ballet (not football, which she truly loves!). Oh well.....