“‘If you’re not in Gryffindor, we’ll disinherit you,’ said Ron,”

“But no pressure.”

When I haven’t been knitting mittens, I have managed to find time to knit other things. And other mittens. Ahem.

So my studious Ravenclaw friend will get these snuggly blue mittens:

Yes it’s an owl rather than a raven, but I honestly don’t care.

And my adventurous Gryffindor friend will get this:

It’s a bookmark. It is a bit thick, as I used Aran wool and because I knit it flat and seamed (as I really hate magic loop and DPNs) but I figure that’s okay as Gryffindors aren’t known for their copious reading!

Hahahahaha!

I can say that as I’m a Ravenclaw.


Ravenclaws rule.



*Quote from J.K. Rowling

“Even damnation…”

“…is poisoned with rainbows”

You might be aware that it’s Christmas very soon. You will have planned who you want to buy presents for, how much you want to spend, and thought about what you might get them. Actually, by this point you’ve undoubtedly bought the presents and wrapped them.

Some of you may have remained blissfully unaware of the slow approach of Christmas and left all your gift planning, buying and wrapping to the last minute. This was unwise.

Wherever you are on the Christmas planning spectrum, please heed my advice – don’t decide to give several friends knitted items only a week before you see them. You will not want to knit the same pair of mittens again and again, every day for two weeks. You will not like feeling unable to take day off from knitting knowing the deadline is looming over you in an ominously jolly way.

It was rather worth it though:

The worst part is that you’ll like the mittens so much you will want a pair of your own, but won’t be able to facing YET ANOTHER pair!


*Quote from Leonard Cohen

“Wise man looking in a blade of grass…”

“…Young man looking in the shadows that pass.”

As you know I’ve finished quite a few little bits and pieces for various babies over the past couple of months. Now not all of those things have been given (two are waiting for December birthdays) but the majority have. And the responses I have received in return have been…mixed.

Now I realise this is a bit of a touchy subject. One gives gifts freely, with no expectations on the recipient and no strings attached. I believe this, I honestly do. If someone didn’t like something I had given – even if I made it – I would hope they could quietly re-gift, recycle or (in a pinch) chuck whatever it was. I don’t want to foist unwanted goods onto people and guilt them into keeping them. It really is the thought that counts.

HOWEVER

When someone has spent a considerable number of hours crafting a present for someone, picking the right pattern, the right yarn, the right colours, then painstakingly hand knitting the piece, customising it to fit body shapes and personalities…well…it feels thoroughly rotten to never hear back about it.
To be fair, I am being overly sensitive. I have technically received thanks for all gifts.

HOWEVER

Some thanks were… belated. And some have been more effusive than others.

I really don’t want to be someone that expects grovelling thanks in return for knitted items, but it would be nice if my efforts (read, considerable efforts) were acknowledged. I suppose it’s about respect rather than reverence.

I think the crux of my problem is that some people on my recipient list do not understand the effort and time and love that is involved in hand knitting clothes - even baby clothes. And so they don’t place any value on those items. This breaks my heart a little.

I don’t want to stop knitting for those people. I love those people, this is a way I express that love. But maybe I should lower my expectation levels and knit for them less.

Some people in receipt of my hand knits have used them in gorgeous arty Instagram posts, or have said it’s their favourite outfit for their child. I know it probably doesn’t count, but CB wears his knits to bits!

That is the greatest compliment; use. But when in doubt, thanks and picture of the item in use never goes amiss. 

*Quote from Bob Dylan

"If you're going to try, go all the way…”

“…Otherwise, don't even start."

Oh Philly Fans. You find me in a knitting funk. The worst kind of funk. Worse than reading funks. I don’t know why, it just is. Probably because it’s what I’m currently feeling.

I decided that I would use up some of my stash before buying lovely new yarn for lovely new things. And foolishly I began with the wool I most dislike.

This stuff:

It is nylon. It is a stupid pastel that doesn’t lend itself to anything apart from really girly things (and I don’t know anyone really girly). It is quite thin, so you have to do more stitches and knit with it for longer to actually produce anything of any size. Plus it feels yucky in my hands when I work with it.

“Throw it away then!” I hear you say.

Well I can’t. I’m too reticent to throw anything away that could still be useful. And it’s wool, of course it’s useful!

So I don’t want to knit with it, but I have to use it up before I can knit things I actually want to. Hence the funk.

Maybe I should have started by using up some of the nicer wool. Well maybe I should have, but I’m a couple of inches into a stranded chequerboard pattern (which will eventually become a horrific Battenberg hot water bottle cover) and I don’t want to frog it.

Will I even use this when I’m done? Probably but I doubt I’ll like it.

This is a feat of endurance. I might take breaks and knit some other things in between, but I feel like I have to complete this. Just to prove I can. I told myself I would so I will.

Except…I still don’t want to. And so it just sits there and makes me feel bad for procrastinating.

Sigh! What a lot of fuss over nothing.

*Quote from Charles Bukowski

“So comes snow after fire…”

“…and even dragons have their endings.” 

I mean he’s no Smaug, but my dragon is finished:

This is Griff the Dragon (Ravelry link to pattern here) by Amanda Berry. Admittedly her version looks cuter and less…creepy than mine, but at least he is recognisably a dragon.

I’m not sure why mine looks so dodgy. I (mostly) used the recommended yarn (Hayfield Bonus DK) in the recommended shades (Green and Light Green – very imaginative names). I did deviate with the white as you need so little of it and I have a couple of balls of cheap acrylic lying around. But that can’t be the only reason. I guess I’m not great at the finessing and finishing, but honestly I tried really hard on this!

At least he’s not a weird little worm anymore:

I really like Amanda Berry’s patterns. She writes them out line by line, which makes for a really long pack of instructions, but is pretty foolproof. I was sensible enough to read them through before beginning this time, and as her short rows are different to those of my Carnaby skirt (blogged about here) as you don’t wrap and turn, you just turn. The short rows are on the toes and fingers, and you sew up the other side anyway so I guess it doesn’t need to be wrapped.

I’m not sure what to do with him now. There are a few babies in my life he could go to, but I don’t know if he’s nice enough to be a present. Poor thing. But I really don’t need another toy in my home. I never could bring myself to give Parsnip away so he’s still with us!

If anyone knows of anyone who needs a creepy yet well-meaning dragon, please let me know.

*Quote from J.R.R. Tolkien

“A good speech should be like a woman's skirt…”

“…long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.”

Another finished object to show off – my second Carnaby skirt!

My first one, in black, gets a lot of wear. It’s in my regular work rotation, so probably gets worn two or three times a month. So I thought it would definitely be worth making another in a different colour.

I used to wear a white skirt to work quite often, but that one (a shop bought one) had started to come apart a bit, it had lots of threads sticking out all over, so it had been formally retired. This lovely new Carnaby can replace it.

I’m also pleased that I already had some suitable buttons in my collection:

I inherited these and I wonder if they have some sister-buttons out there on another garment…
Even though I’ve knit the pattern before, it’s still quite fun to do. It’s simple enough that you can get into a bit of a rhythm, but interesting enough that your brain doesn’t glaze over. I used the same type of wool (Cascade 220) and the same sized needle (4.5mm circular) and to be honest if I needed more skirts I would happily have more of these.

I’ve yet to buy grosgrain ribbon to reinforce the waist band, but I will do. It would be a shame for them to stretch, and I don’t want to risk my skirt falling down at work!

Yeah, maybe I’ll buy that ribbon sooner rather than later…

*Quote by Winston Churchill

"The bowler approached the wicket at a lope, a trot, and then a run. He suddenly exploded in a flurry of arms and legs…”

“…out of which flew a ball.” 

Only a short post this week, just to mention a couple of finished objects from a little while ago.

The niblings are a little obsessed with playing with balls. I cannot think of a non-dirty way to write that.They like balloons, footballs, those plastic beachy ones, they just love spheres.

So I found these two simple patterns and thought they might make good presents. Unfortunately the woven ball isn’t fastened together so I don’t think it would survive a baby’s curious fingers for long, and the stripy ball is about a third of the size I was expecting it to be.

CB speaks highly of a knitted football he and his brother had when they were younger, as it was a way to play football inside the house. I figured since I don’t live with any small ones, I wouldn’t have to deal with any broken objects so an inside football would be a great idea!

It’s a shame they aren’t really what I wanted. They could still be gifts, just not as good as I wanted. At least I got to use up some of the cheap yucky wool I have balls and balls of going spare. I bought it years ago and it’s not really suitable for many projects as it feels so plasticy and thin.  But the superscrimper in me won’t let me throw it away – it’s still useable wool after all! So back it goes into the stash….


*Quote from Douglas Adams

“The spectator is a prince…”

“…who everywhere rejoices in his incognito.”

One of my favourite words is also one of my favourite things to be:

“Flâneur, from the French noun flâneur, means "stroller", "lounger", "saunterer", or "loafer". Flânerie is the act of strolling, with all of its accompanying associations” (Wikipedia)

And I have recently had a few days to enjoy being a flâneur in Bruges with my partner CB. The early days of our relationship were spent strolling around the streets of London, getting to know the City and its rhythms as much as we got to know each other. Since moving up North our urban flânerie has been curtailed, but we do love a wander and Bruges has to be one of the prettiest places to amble about.

We first visited Bruges a year or two ago so knew pretty much what we wanted to do. Which was essentially: eat waffles, chips and chocolate (not together) and drink beer.

Add a healthy dose of snoozing in the world’s most comfortable bed (we could lie horizontally on the feather duvet atop the memory foam mattress and not touch the sides – sigh!) and all that’s missing is hours spent walking around the cobbled streets and along the canal paths.

It doesn’t hurt that Autumn is my favourite season. The colours, the temperatures (hurray! Hats, gloves and scarves!) and the smells are a tonic for the soul.

Fun fact: I always thought Spring was my favourite season until this year. At some point in September I turned to CB and sighingly told him how much I love the sights and smells of Autumn, at which point he smiled and told me that I say that every year! He said it’s clearly my favourite season, but I had no idea! Well, at least I’m consistent in feeling even if I’m crap in memory…

Although this musing is really about the loveliness of existing in a space and being part of it while also passing through it, which is how I feel as a flâneur and also how I feel about Autumn, I couldn’t live with myself if I mentioned Bruges without a shout out to the amazing Historium.

Me, eating a waffle outside the Historium <3

God I love this place. Plus now there’s a virtual reality attraction where you fly. I almost fainted afterwards, it’s brilliant.

*Quotes from Charles Baudelaire

“The magic is only in what books say…

“…how they stitched the patches of the universe together into one garment for us.” 

Another finished object to show off!

This time it’s nothing for a baby, it’s adult clothing.

No, wait…. That sounds dirty. Let me try again…

It’s a shrug made to fit a grown up. A particular grown up in fact. Me! 

I don’t have many pictures of its construction as, it turns out, tiny black stitches next to other tiny black stitches aren’t amazingly photogenic. At least, not at my skill level.

I used a pattern called Mae (Ravelry link here) by Carrie Bostick Hoge and, although I couldn’t bring myself to purchase the delicious but pricey wool the pattern called for, I did splash out on some delightfully soft merino wool – MillaMia Naturally Soft Merino in Pitch Black. Yum.

I’m really pleased. Initially I thought it would come round a bit further, but after a block it has stretched nicely, and I think a few wears will mould it to my body even further. It’s such a simple design, putting good use to simple stockinette and garter stitch patterns, but I think it looks really snazzy. Comfy but smart.

It’s also really cozy thanks to the merino wool and how it sits snugly against the neck. Perfect to go over a fancy dress at winter weddings!

*Quote from Ray Bradbury

" “Take off your hat," the King said to the Hatter..."

"..."It isn't mine," said the Hatter.

"Stolen!" the King exclaimed, turning to the jury, who instantly made a memorandum of the fact.

"I keep them to sell," the Hatter added as an explanation; "I've none of my own. I'm a hatter.” " *

I am not a hatter, but I feel a bit like one.

Having said I would take a break before knitting any more hats, I then realised I was seeing my very pregnant friend pretty soon and it would be infinitely more convenient to give her both jumpers and both hats at the same time.

So I found myself once again knitting using the Dayton pattern, this time in the smallest size, and once again knitting to a deadline - I started on Monday and needed both finished by Saturday evening.

The first hat went pretty smoothly. Knitted up quickly, finished in three days (plus some finishing and pom pom making). However, partway through my second hat, I opened the pdf pattern on my phone (rather than using the LoveKnitting App) and it opened an entirely different version of the pattern, with different sizes and different directions. No notice of this happening, no choice of using the old or new pattern. I was pretty unhappy, considering I had already started knitting using the old version.

Luckily I had saved the old version elsewhere and, by not closing the app, I could still access the original pattern document. But I wasn't happy. You think it would tell you the designer had updated the pattern. Grr...

Once that hurdle was...well, hurdled, I soon encountered another. I was mid-way through the cabling (was on the third cable repeat out of six) when I realised I had messed up. And messed up in a superbly stupid way. I had begun the cable row and not actually cabled any stitches. I moved two stitches on to the cable needle, put the needle to the back of the work, and then promptly knitted those two stitches rather than the two next ones. About half-way through the row I started cabling properly, but I still didn't realise my mistake until the row afterwards when I suddenly saw only half of my hat was in the correct pattern.

I tried to tink back a row and a half, but found it impossible to untwist the stitches. I then ripped th row out, but then couldn't pick up all the stitches and be confident they were on the same row, that I hadn't missed any, and that they were the right way round.

I will be honest, I cried. I had a bit of a tantrum. This was Friday night, the day before my deadline, and I was ripping all my beautiful cabling out. I managed to pick up my stitches from the garter stitch band, and the rest was fine.

It was pretty hairy for a bit, but I finished in good time on Saturday and my friend was delighted with the knits. PHEW.


*Quote from Lewis Carroll,

“Each day I live in a glass room…”

“…unless I break it with the thrusting of my senses and pass through the splintered walls to the great landscape.”

Recently my parents came Oop North for a visit. Despite officially being Autumn now, miraculously the weather was surprisingly balmy and we had a great day out in Castleton, in Derbyshire.

The parental units are members of both English Heritage and the National Trust and seem to be on a mission to visit every property they can (oh to be retired!). As such, we first went to Peveril Castle:

It’s a very very steep walk up, but well worth it. The castle is a ruined 11th-century castle which wasn’t really ever a ‘proper’ castle. The closest it came to seeing battle was in 1216, when King John gave the castle to William de Ferrers, but the castellan refused despite them both being the King’s supporters. De Ferrers was authorised to ‘use force’ but there’s no evidence that the castle was actually assaulted.

It was rebuilt a bit after King Henry III visited, but he never came back to see the result. It was used for local courts in the 1600s, but essentially just fell into disrepair and ruin. Which is a shame, but it looks very romantic and gothic now.

After the castle we stopped by one of the many pubs for a well-received drink and bite to eat. We only meant to get something small, but portions were HUGE! I still ate practically all of it. Think CB only got one chip.

After lunch we pootled round the shops. Everything is Blue John themed after one of the caverns nearby. Lots of pretty jewellery and trinkets, though we were most impressed by these fantastic encyclopaedic mugs (ever wanted to learn all the bones in the human body while drinking your morning cup of tea?) though £20 for one mug was too much of a stretch. Plus how could you pick only one?

We then wanted to visit a cavern and, it getting on for 4pm by that point, there was only one closest we could get to before closing time. Peak Cavern, also known as:

Surprisingly, despite the name, the cavern was fantastic.

There are large flow stone (beautiful swirling white calcium carbonite deposits) formations in the entrance, and teeny tiny stalactites further inside the cavern, both of which would have taken hundreds and hundreds of years to form.

Cave exploration is still ongoing in the Peak Cavern system, but there’s a good 13 miles of caving that links with Speedwell cavern nearby. It is the longest cave system (so far discovered) in Derbyshire.

The tour started with a rope-making demonstration, which we thought would be rubbish but was really interesting! The entrance of the cavern was used from the 1600s to the late 1800s by rope makers, with the rope being used for the lead mining industry around Castleton.

Early visitors to the cave were taken round by the rope makers using only smelly tallow candles for light. So creepy! After the entrance, you have to bend double for a bit in order to enter the ‘Great Cave’, but originally visitors would have had to enter by climbing into a coffin-like boat and floating through a low archway. We don’t have to do that anymore as Queen Victoria flatly refused to travel like that, so they blasted her out a passageway (she was annoyingly short, old Queen Vic) as we walked through that.

The Great Cave is pretty impressive. Obviously when we were there it was lit with electric lights, but back in t'day they would have lit a firework to show visitors how big it was! The lights were turned out at one point (there was another group after us who were doing a soundscape - which we crashed and it was weird) and to be in the pitch darkness was quite unnerving. I can't imagine what it was like for someone to ride into the darkness in a coffin-boat to explore somewhere associated with the Devil!

The cavern floods and so the ‘Arsehole’ is actually a small hole where the water drains back. Quite a lot of pressure builds up and, unsurprisingly, when that pressure releases it makes the noise that you might associate with the Devil’s Arsehole…

*Quote from Mervyn Peake

“Some hats can only be worn if you're willing to be jaunty, to set them at an angle and to walk beneath them with a spring in your stride…”

“…as if you're only a step away from dancing. They demand a lot of you.” 

Another pat on the back for me – I have finished the hats for my niece and nephew!

I used the pattern Dayton (Ravelry link here) and yarn already in my stash for them both (you might recognise the green Paintbox Aran from the Rainbow Cardigans - pattern here and blog posts here and here).

This completes the winter woollies set for my nephew (which I sort of took on by accident), but which has turned out far nicer than I anticipated and will hopefully fit him.

My sister didn’t think my niece would wear mittens or booties (thank god) so her ‘set’ is literally just the hat! Though I did add a pompom for an extra jazzy touch. Plus I have run out of the green wool and had to add a few rows of grey to finish it!

I’m not a big fan of knitting cables. They are easy to do and they look fantastic, but the cable row and the one immediately after always seem wrong. Too tight, or too gapey. Yes that's a word. Of course they’re not, and when you get a couple more rows along it all evens out, but there’s still that nagging doubt every time you repeat…

I was intending on knitting a couple more of these for the twins, but I don’t know if I have it in me to knit two more of the same pattern. I might have a browse for alternatives - though I suspect I’ll come straight back to this one. It is lovely.


*Quote from Neil Gaiman

“I enjoy acronyms.”

“…Recursive Acronyms Crablike "RACRECIR" Especially Create Infinite Regress” 

In my travels, I have read many a knitting blog, spent many hours trawling knitting forums (well, Ravelry mainly), and have had to re-read knitting patterns far too many times. Through these adventures in knit-land, I have had to learn a new sort of language: the language of Knitting Acronyms.

Some are pretty obvious (FO = Finished Object). Some make no sense but once you learn what it stands for you wonder how you didn’t twig (ISO = In Search Of). And some are brilliantly obscure (SABLE = Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy).

So, for posterity, here is my list (so far) of knitting terms:

BOR = Beginning of Round.

CAL = Crochet Along.

CIP = Crocheting In Public.

Colorway = The name or number of the colour of a yarn.

DPN = Double Pointed Needles.

DS = Destash (to get rid of unwanted yarn.)

EOR = End Of Row.

FO = Finished Object.

Frog = To rip back (“rip it, rip it”) by removing the needles from the project and pulling on the loose end of the yarn. Generally used when the mistake you made is a few rows ago, or when completely unraveling an entire item.

Frog Pond = A storage place for knitted things waiting to be frogged.

Gifted = Giving yarn/FO to others for free.

ISO = In Search Of.

KAL = Knit Along (where a group of people knit the same pattern and discuss it in a thread to give each other pointers, tips and encouragement.)

KIP = Knitting In Public.

Knitworthy = Someone worth knitting for (not just because they are lovely, but because they receive the items with enthusiasm and wear/use them.)

LK = Loom Knitting.

LYS = Local Yarn Store.

LYSO = Local Yarn Store Owner.

MK = Machine Knitting.

Muggle = Non-knitter.

OTH = On The Hooks.

OTN = On The Needles.

PM = Place Marker.

Pooling = When one colour in a variegated yarn groups or ‘pools’ together in one area.

SABLE = Stash Acquisition Beyond Life Expectancy (my personal favourite, but not something I aspire to!)

SQ = Sweater Quantity (enough yarn of one type to make a jumper!)

Tink = To undo knitted stitches by reversing the knitting motion, to go back and fix an error on that row. ‘Tink’ is ‘Knit’ backwards – essentially you are un-knitting each stitch.

UFO = UnFinished Object (a WIP that has been abandoned or neglected.)

W&T = Wrap and Turn (a technique to get short rows. Instead of knitting all the way from one side to the other and then knitting back again, you knit partway down the row, turn, and knit back.)

WIP = Work In Progress.

Yarn barf = a big lump of yarn that has accidentally become tangled together in a spaghetti-like mess. Heartbreaking.

*Quote from Douglas R. Hofstadter

“And her old Uncle William used to say a lady is known by her shoes...”

“…and her gloves.” 

You know what I’ve decided? I hate knitting baby mittens.

I hate it.

I hate knitting tiny things in the round.

Sure they knit up quickly. Sure they’re adorable. Sure the pay-off of knitting time to object made is great. But they are annoying and fiddly to knit and the process of knitting them is not enjoyable.

This is my way of telling you I’ve finished knitting the mittens for my nephew:

I used The World’s Simplest Mittens pattern (Ravelry link here) and used the same red and grey stash wool I used for the Nicki booties previously (blogged about here) .

It’s a good pattern, don’t get me wrong, but I hated this project.

I’m knitting for a 2 year old so I used the Toddler sizing instructions. Part-way through I realised my mittens were looking huge and, after a quick google, came to the conclusion that toddler sizes meant 0-5. Is a 5 year old a toddler? Really? Hmm.

But then it meant that the thumb gusset (giggle) seemed out of proportion and unnecessarily large, which I didn’t know how to fix!

Well anyway I then had to free-ball my sizing. Hopefully lefty matches righty at least.

God knows if they’ll fit.

If not he can just wear socks on his hands.

Shop bought socks.

I am never knitting baby mittens again.


*Quote from Virginia Woolf

“And there’s its twin…"

“…unnatural little beasts they are.”

Another triumphant post today as yet again I have not one but two finished objects to flaunt:

They are teeny tiny and very cute, which should be perfect for a pair of twins expected later this year. Luckily I do not feel the same as Kreacher and instead think twins are fantastic. Although that might be because I’m not expecting any… Hmm….

These both use the Little Coffee Bean pattern (Ravelry link here) and are knit in Sirdar Snuggly DK in Indigo Mix, Cream, and either Little Gem (green) or Flamenco (red).

The pattern is different from ones I’ve used in the past as it is seamless, kit back and forth all in one piece on circular needles.

It is lovely not having to seam, but you do have to knit the sleeves separately. Unless you want adorable little cap sleeves instead:

I used the magic loop method (rather than DPNs) which I find makes it easier to avoid laddering or loose stitches. However, the knitting gods have worked against me as the stripes don’t quite match up or just hang a bit peculiar…

See the left sleeve on both? Urgh.

If this were a jumper for a grup I would probably frog it and re-knit, but as the twins will undoubtedly outgrow these in a matter of minutes I don’t think it’s worth the effort.

There is also joy on the to-knit list as my sister advised me that my niece doesn’t need mittens or booties, so those can both get scratched off the list – huzzah! Only one pair of mittens, four hats, and a dragon to go before I can get back to Christmas knitting.

Sigh… One day I’ll knit something for myself again!

*Quote from J.K. Rowling

“Amateurs sit and wait for inspiration…”

“…the rest of us just get up and go to work.” 

Last week I was a little overwhelmed with the ever-growing list of items to be knitting. This week I am happy to show you not one, but two finished objects:

LoveKnitting link here

LoveKnitting link here

Having these two out of the way really lightens the load a bit. I thought they would take me a week more to complete, so I’ve now got that extra time to get on with the jumpers and hats etc. for the twins. I have earned myself extra time. I didn’t think it was possible. I am an incredible human.

The blue cardi (with the uninspiring name "Cardigans in Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK - 1219") is for my friend’s Goddaughter, and owes its existence to a mistake made by another friend. (The friends in question, C and H, are my Luck Dragon loving companions mentioned previously)

H bought a pattern and some wool online to make a cardigan for her niece (I think it was her niece. I’m not entirely sure actually). However, when the wool came it wasn’t the colour it looked like on her computer screen (the perennial problem with buying wool online) and she didn’t think it would work. So, as she is the loveliest, she gifted the wool and pattern to yours truly. I find it very difficult to pass up free yarn.

Instead of knitting the cardigan for my niece, I thought it would be nicer to pass on the love, and gift the finished cardigan to C, for one of her goddaughters. I hope it fits.

It’s made from Sirdar Snuggly Baby Bamboo DK and it has a lovely silky look and feel. The stitches are nicely defined and it feels nice on your hands when you’re working with it. My only gripe is that it has a slight odour about it, but that’s going away now the cardigan is being aired.

The other cardigan will look familiar to Philly-Fans – it’s another Rainbow Cardigan by Paintbox Yarns which I made previously and blogged about here. I still like the wool and the colours especially, though I’ve noticed it does drop some fibres when you’re working with it so your lap can become a bit fluffy after an evening of knitting!

Now, on to more baby cardigans! Huzzah!


*Quote from Stephen King

“My fault, my failure, is not in the passions I have…”

“…but in my lack of control of them.”

You know how it starts...

"I’ll knit things for people I love for Christmas presents. What a good idea. La la la."

You how it develops...

"Oh you’re pregnant?! Congratulations! I’ll knit you something for the baby!"

...and develops...

"What? It’s TWINS! Oh that’s amazing – I’ll knit for them both!" 

... ...and develops...

"That’s a nice pattern. Oh and that one’s nice! And obviously I’ll need to do two of each..."

... ... ...and suddenly I’m knitting on a deadline!

I need to:

• Finish a sleeve and all the finishing for a Christmas jumper for my niece. (That can wait, but it’s annoying to be so close to finishing!)
• Finish a jumper for my friend’s goddaughter. (That technically can wait, but I’m seeing her in a week or so and it would be nice to give it to her rather than having to post it later.) 
• Knit two jumpers for twins due in November, but likely to come early. (Need to do these before the end of October really.)
• Knit two baby hats for the twins. (Not necessary but so cute!)
• Knit a hat each for my niece and nephew
• Knit a set of mittens each for my niece and nephew
• Knit a pair of booties for my niece to match those made for my nephew. (There's no strict deadline on any of these cold weather woollies, but it would be nice to have them finished for when the weather starts to get cold.)
• Knit a dragon for the twins. (Again, not necessary but so cute!)

So essentially I need to knit everything all at once. Which kinda takes the fun out of it…or at least balances out the fun with stress.

After I finish all that lot, I get to start all the projects for ME.

*Quote from Jack Kerouac

"Okay. Now, let’s say he’s in the house and there’s a fire, and you can either save him or your shoes – which is it?"

"That depends – did he start the fire?"

I’m in a bit of a knitting funk. I want to embark on a new set of projects, picking something big and new and challenging. Let’s be honest here, ideally I want to knit myself another jumper. Specifically, either this jumper, Tinder:

© Brooklyn Tweed/Jared Flood

or this jumper, Stripes Gone Crazy:

© al-fa

Or finally, this jumper, Peloponnese:

© Linus Ouellet

Adding insult to injury, I actually have an excuse to buy more wool! I’ve run out of Paintbox Simply Aran in Champagne White so I can’t finish my Rainbow Cardigan.

But my conscience tells me I can’t. My stash box is literally crammed full of yarn. I need to finish up the projects I already have wool for – my white Carnaby skirt, my donated wool and baby cardigan pattern, and a hundred random things (toys, cowls, gloves etc.).

So I’ve been grumpily looking through the stash and thinking what I can do with it. I have all my lovely bright Paintbox yarns, but they kind of need a more subdued colour to be worked with so the finished object doesn’t offend the eyes so much…

To cut a long story short, I realised my Sister-in-Law had previously asked for me to knit some mittens for my nephew and I thought - great! Something to use up the stash!

And that got mixed around in my knotted brain, and I knitted some baby booties instead.

I have no idea why I’ve knitted these instead of what I was asked to do.

Mittens for the feet perhaps? Oh well. At least they're nice.

*Quote from Gilmore Girls

“Arthur blinked at the screens and felt he was missing something important. Suddenly he realized what it was.”

“"Is there any tea on this spaceship?" he asked.”

There’s a lot to be said about Sheffield. About how pretty it is, about how friendly the people are, and about how much goes on here considering it’s so small. But that is not what I’m going to talk about today. No, today I’m feeling the need to pay tribute to one of my greatest loves. No, not knitting this time.

Tea.

Despite it being August and there being a literal beach outside my window at work (seriously) Sheffield has decided to piss it down with rain. Cats, dogs, pigs, goats, whatever – you name it, it’s raining it. It’s also not particularly warm – at least, not to a soft southerner like myself.

And you know what it being cold and wet means to me? Yup, you guessed it –

Tea.

Here is a classic example of my tea consumption:

This is my first cup of tea of the day. CB gets up before I do and he makes himself a cup of coffee and makes me a cup of tea. He doesn’t put it on the bedside table as it gives me a reason to drag myself from the duvet-cocoon and ultimately into the office.

This is cup number two, when I get in to the office. Yes, it’s a big cup (pen for scale). I need a big cup. This one is my proper first cup – the previous one doesn’t really count as I’m too sleepy. Plus by the time I actually get out of bed and drink it, it’s lukewarm at best. This one is hot and yummy (my mouth just filled up with saliva thinking about it).

These get me through the day. On wet days like this I can average one an hour. I then need to pee quite a lot though.

This is my post-lunch cuppa. This helps digestion. Probably. Maybe.

This is a ‘welcome home from work’ cuppa I sometimes make myself. Not every day - some days I don’t drink tea after I get home. They tend to be days where I’ve had too many cups at the office and I am more tea than woman.

This is faux-tea, also known as hot-of-choc, also known as hot chocolate. It satisfies the need for pudding without scoffing sweeties, and makes me feel warm and sleepy ready to start another day of tea-drinking.


*Quote from Douglas Adams