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Saturday, April 29, 2006

Where is the love?

I'm having to ask myself. I am knitting to a deadline, which I don't find fun at all. Instead, I looked to my stash for all the fun things that I'll have to tinker with when I am through.




Gorgeous handspun (left) is 170 yards of pure whimsy. I am thinking that it might need to be a hat...



AMERICAN YARN! Granted, it's not the 100% wool goodness I asked for, but it's something different. The pink baby DK is ideal for baby-sized Christmas presents and I might make an entrelac pillow with the Homespun. The Jiffy is going to be a cabled hat for me I suspect.


And buttons. Oodles of pretty buttons.

Kelly [ 5:44 PM ]

Thursday, April 27, 2006





I got this rather yummy book in the post this morning. And it has me reaching for my pay cheque...

The majority of the patterns are nothing new but it is interesting to see what you can do with a single skein of yarn, especially when you're on a budget. I think I will knit these:
Gorgeous silk sleeves, knit from a single skein of Kidsilk Haze. The mind boggles at how soft these would be... I also fancy making a few felted bowls for Christmas presents and a pair of fingerless gloves. There's some tempting crochet projects in the book too if I can ever get the hang of the hook.

And the pictures are highly seductive, even if I don't *actually* knit much from it...

Kelly [ 12:15 PM ]

Wednesday, April 26, 2006

It's the final countdown...


I'm clapped out on the clapotis. She is coming together nicely and I am sure she'll be warmly received but I only have a week to finish.... and the half way mark is only just in sight. I might have to keep her for myself. The £2 yarn is actually rather nice to work with. It's a purty colour...

The dropping of the stitches is deliciously good fun, although the first wonky one struck serious fear in me!

Meanwhile, on smaller needles, I completed the first sock and she fits perfectly:


She looks delicious avec a foot inside...

And I have no more time for blogging, just knitting.

Kelly [ 8:41 PM ]

Friday, April 21, 2006


Decided this photo would make a perfect postcard for this month's Project Spectrum swap :)

Kelly [ 10:39 AM ]


Update, sans pictures...

I am a slave to the clap. She's progressing beautifully. Expect pictures now that the stitches have begun to unfurl...

I began a week ago and have dropped 3 of the 13 stitches. Sadly, I only have until May 4th to finish this baby so I am going to have to put in some serious hours! I also need another Cascading Leaves sock finished by May 12th. I do like a challenge...

In other news, I have oodles of Kool Aid. Tons of the stuff. As soon as pay day arrives, I'll be all over Texere :)

Kelly [ 9:47 AM ]

Thursday, April 13, 2006

It's Easter and I've got the clap*...

*not really, but I had a big grin on my face as I wrote this...

With one Cascading Leaves sock sat on my sofa waiting for a Kitchener stitch on the toe, I decided I should cast on something new. Finances still aren't looking promising enough for my red Cashmerino Boob Holder so I decided to look into my stash. I found a cone of gorgeous purple/pink/blue light DK/heavy 4ply that was crying to be made into something pretty.

So I cast on a Clapotis for a lovely family friend who doesn't forgt my birthday. It took a couple of attempts - firstly due to feline intervention - as I find starting with only a couple of stitches rather cumbersome. I am well in to the increase rows and wait in anticipation to start dropping stitches. It's a bit of a treat to knit - a nice mix between simple and stimulating. And getting the clap for £2 will make me very happy indeed.

Easter is a free wheeling 4 days of work free fun. I will:

* Graft the toe of the stray sock

* Continue with the clap

* Sew some polka dot joy - my little sister is moving out so she'll appreciate some pretty cushions and make up bags hopefully.

* Attack and complete my first big sewing project - Karina in adorable terry toweling.

Happy Easter!

Kelly [ 1:40 PM ]

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Beauty and the Feet



One of the most difficult parts about knitted gifts is making sure they fit. Fortunately, my mum and The Boy have the same size feet so I can borrow his when I need to measure up. The socks are progressing nicely, despite me having a bit of a mad moment on the heel.

I took my beautiful sock to the laundrette today and enjoyed knitting away as the washing sloshed about.... I might never replace our washing machine at this rate.

Kelly [ 10:07 PM ]

Saturday, April 08, 2006

It's not knitting but...


A girl cannot show up to a new knitting group with her wares in an old Tesco carrier bag. So I finally decided to get to grips with my sewing machine and make a knitting bag. Isn't she pretty? She's lined with thick interfacing to protect her from errant knitting needles and is just big enough to tote around a book, a couple of small projects and a few needles.

Unfortunately, I underestimated her beauty originally and had to use her as a handbag yesterday...

Right, now it's time to update this here layout!

Kelly [ 8:47 AM ]

Thursday, April 06, 2006

A little peek of my current WIP...


The start of Mum's birthday socks - and I still have over a month to go!

Kelly [ 9:17 PM ]



Hey? It's yellow!

I need to step up the photography - I keep forgetting to bring my camera out with me. There's plenty of yellow and orange stuff all over Bristol!


My reason for updating is...


It is causing me more than a little anxiety. I love a lot of the patterns in this book. And I love Debbie's witty banter that peppers the ample explanations. But f*ck a duck, I don't love crochet.

I guess I have gotten used to knowing what I am doing - memories of crying as my bumpy mishapen holey creations fell of my needles are fading. Crochet seems like it should be easier but I just get frustrated that it doesn't feel as fluid as knitting now does. I persevered for an hour last night and created 'The Crochet Creature'. I wish I had photographed him for this update. He is a sickly creature. He was supposed to be a square of single crochet...

To remedy this, I started the Cascading Leaves socks in my lovely springy hand dyed wool. It is truly beautiful. The pattern is simple and easy enough to potter along with... unfortunately, I fear the wool will come up short. Fingers crossed!



Kelly [ 11:19 AM ]

Monday, April 03, 2006

Head to toe FOs!
Nothing to show then BLAM! two things to proudly display.

Firstly, my first socks...
Pattern: Basic Socks from Web of Wool

Yarn: Regia Nations 4 ply - just over 1 ball

Time taken: Not too long actually!

I wore these socks all day today, taking moments to smile proudly at myself and knowing that it was unlikely that anyone else in the room had custom fitted stripey socks on. They have a tiny imperfection - a hole in one of the heels where I was picking up stitches - but this was due to feline intervention at a critical moment.
And secondly... the cabled Newsboy hat from SnB Nation

How cheeky do I look?

Pattern: Cabled Newsboy Hat, SnB Nation

Yarn: Leftover grey Cygnet Woolrich Aran, quite a lot less than 1 ball!

Time taken: Cast on Wednesday, ignored for a couple of days while I completed socks, then picked back up over the weekend - a speedy knit.

Sadly, despite being simple, this hat is riddled with mistakes. I tried knitting while hungover, while chatting and while watching America's Next Top Model so I was just a bit sloppy. Naughty Kelly. Here's a better picture using another model - I was too lazy to get the tripod out:


I went for the unstuffed brim to make it a little more Rasta and I think it works. I plan to wear this until the blazing heat of summer descends... but that's everything off my needles for the minute! This gives me free reign to hit The Happy Hooker and learn to crochet - woo hoo!

Kelly [ 10:15 PM ]

Sunday, April 02, 2006

Good bye yellow brick road...




Yet another yellow pic - this time it's the flats above Teoh's, my favourite local restaurant. I am blogging to report gorgeous Project Spectrum sock yarn, as dyed by me.

This is the undyed Opal sock yarn that I scooped at Get Knitted yesterday. It is dyed with Kool Aid (I'm thrifty, ok?) in good ol' cherry nd orange. There's a few pale patches but I am fairly pleased with the result overall - I am considering making a wrap instead of socks with it to show off the lovely colours. But to be fair. the sock would probably get a lot more wear. Especially if they were the gorgeous Slinky Socks from this month's Magknits...

Kelly [ 11:49 AM ]

Saturday, April 01, 2006

And it was all yellow...
The beginning of a new month means a lot of things. Firstly, new colours for Project Spectrum! We're now focussing on orange and yellow. And as you can see mfrom my picture above, Spring has indeed finally sprung here in Bristol. I took my hangover and camera for a walk today to get a decent supply of yellow and orange themed photos - people must have thought I was nuts.

What else happens on the first Saturday of the month? Get Knitted opens its doors to the public. And I was there, albeit poor and a little queasy. Their warehouse may be tiny and tucked away but the staff are super friendly and the yarn is... wow. So much beautiful stuff.

I was very reserved - I simply picked up a couple of skeins of undyed Opal and some extra DPNs. But I could have spent my whole pay cheque. The main culprit?

That is a gorgeous skein of Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb in George Town. And it's a purty £16.00 a skein. SO they kept it. And I almost had to kiss it good bye...

Not much knitting to update with - the socks and hat are on the cusp of completion so I would rather get back to them and post two Fos tomorrow. And I also have some Project Spectrum inspired wool relaxing in a dye bath that may need me soon....

Kelly [ 10:40 PM ]