Float'n'purl

Spoiled to Death!

Just look at what came in the post yesterday! My fabulous SP5 gift! Wow, my Secret Pal really knows how to spoil me, and I guess that this is the real "secret" of SP5!

My gift box included (in no particular order as I loved each and every gift as much as the last!):

• Black Magic Massage Bar from Lush - my DH appreciated this as I gave him a back massage last night (nothing saucy of course - but check out the description on Lush's website for what should have happened!). The smell is simply devine.......
• Beautiful stitch markers from Glamscience in a really cute little tin
• A Ripple Scarf Kit from a pattern by Jean Moss and lovely deep pink Artesano Alpaca (Fair Trade yarn!!). I've never knitted with Alpaca so I'm really looking forward to casting this on!!
• A skein of beautiful handspun yarn also from Glamscience, called "Popsicle Thin". What a great name. I'll use this for a winter hat from my Rowan "Big Just Got Bigger" pattern book.
• Spring Summer edition of Vogue Knitting, which has so many great patterns it deserves a separate post!
• Equally "Weekend Knitting" by Melanie Falick also deserves a post, especially the egg cosy jumpers!
• And last but not least I can't forget my lovely "Knit" greeting cards (also from Glamscience), all the way from Seattle.

I'm feeling very spoiled and very, very happy.........thank you Secret Pal!! And an even bigger thank you to Rox for hosting the whole event ;).

I'm now too tired to post any more but I just wanted to say that I had my very own "alternative" Woolfest this weekend - more later......

Picture this........

Has anyone seen this site with Knitting Images? This is one of my favourites - it reminds me of my mum trying to teach me to knit.

Too Hot for Cats!!

Yes, at last the summer has arrived and everyone is moaning about it being too hot! Its certainly too hot for Wally in his long coat........here he is on the back deck of Sissy trying to find a cool spot (poor thing).

Its also been too hot to sit in the study on the computer (and besides I spend all day indoors on one too) so this is a short post just to say that at last I finished Emma's Jumping Dress!!! Its been a long slog and I've made a few mistakes along the way so I was glad to send it off to Emma. Her mum Morag (and my oldest best friend) is going to take some pictures of her wearing it which should make me feel a bit better about the end result (I hope).

I've already cast on a couple of things but more later.........its now well past my bedtime.

Not Quite There Yet

I was hoping to be able to finally post a picture of the completed Jumping Dress but alas I'm slower than I think, although I have finished the neck and arm edging so only the sides to sew up and a button loop to make. Hopefully I'll get it finished later sitting out in the sunshine!

However, I do have a finished object to show!! Its the little bag to go with Emma's dress. I'm really pleased with the result and I've now learned how to do a picot cast off and knit a round base on straight needles!

I also thought I'd better post this close up of Candy from Hipknits but having just checked out Trudie's website I see that she doesn't have any for sale any more? Anyway its lovely shades of pink so I can't wait to get started on my next project!

I'm off now to enjoy the great out doors as the temperature soar! I've just spent several hours studying so I don't feel any guilt! I think this early morning studying at the weekends could be the answer as it means I can do what I want in the afternoon (that is after I've done the weekly chores - groan). Well, since its so nice I won't spend too long cleaning...........

I've managed a few hours of studying after work so now my treat is a bit of blogging and knitting (as long as I don't stay up too late!).

A few things have arrived in the post recently - yes my spending is getting out of hand and my DH has commented more than once on the number of packages that keep on arriving. However, today's delivery from Amazon was partly DH's birthday present (namely Oasis CD & Chewin' The Fat DVD which is a Scottish Comedy that sadly didn't make much of an impact "down south" but DH and I love it!!). Of course to make sure that I got free postage (a pathetic excuse I know) I just had to order myself something - "Knit Socks" by Betsy McCarty which does exactly what is says on the can. Its soooo cute and bigger than I thought! Hopefully this will inspire me to try sock knitting again. Interestingly old Betsy recommends working on both socks at the same time to avoid SSS (second sock syndrome), so I'll need to purchase some more needles if I'm to avoid this pitfall!

Anyway, onto my other arrival which was this hand spinning kit from Scottish Fibers. I've wanted to learn to spin for a while and next week I will be taking delivery of four fleeces from a friend a work who keeps some sheep! Thankfully I have some friends (three sisters) who have spinning wheels and have spun before who will show me the ropes but where I'm going to find the time to do any actual spinning is beyond me!! To help me along I bought this little book a while ago "Spin It: Making Yarn from Scratch" by Lee Raven which is ok but it takes a while to understand some of the instructions.

And finally, onto my latest e-bay purchase......... a wool winder! I was inspired by Noo's purchase. I haven't given it a whirl yet but I'm sure to use it soon to wind up some of my lovely silk yarn from Hipknits.

So as you can see lots of shopping has been done but not very much in the way of productive knitting so I'm off now to sew up Emma's little bag.

(p.s at the time of writing the "Great Blocking Debate" results showed "dry using a steam iron" as the clear winner - it seems that we may all be afraid of "cocking things up" by a bit of wet blocking. Also thanks go to Andrea for posting me a top blocking tip!!)

(p.p.s just had to add this v. cute picture of Wally taking in some evening sun last week next to my pot plants)

The Great Blocking Debate

As someone new to knitting I spend a lot of time reading books on techniques and the one thing that really confuses me is BLOCKING! Following my recent frustration with colours running from wet blocking I thought I would ask all the experienced knitters out there in Blogland to comment on their favourite method!!

In my research I have found that many knitters don't bother blocking (my friend Shirley) following a bad experience where hours of work were ruined with too hot an iron, or there are other knitters, like my mum who have their own style of blocking (her involves lots of towels and a heavy rug!). Most of the books I own agree that you should block according to the ball band instructions but this is fairly pointless when you've bought something that has been hand spun, so I thought I would have this little poll to see what everyone else thinks (big thanks go to Karin for the link to the blog poll - and if you haven't voted on the great Bolero/ Shrug debate get yourself over to Karin's site!!)

Blocking Mad!

On Friday I carefully hand washed my pieces of Emma's Jumping Dress to block them according to the ball band instructions and to my horror on Saturday morning I found that the pink had bled slightly into the cream stripes. I was really disappointed and quickly rushed to wash them again (this time in the washing machine) but the cream still looks a bit dull. Thanks go to Tracy for telling me about washing products that can reverse such things but I think that for now I will simply let things be and not get too stressed. This is a picture of the front (post washing) with a little flower I knitted to add. I know you can't see anything in this photo but I know that from looking closely some of the cream has gone a bit pinky - oh well. I keep consoling myself with the fact that this dress is for a 14 month old baby who will no doubt puke all over it on its first outing and not to get too hung up about such things! The flower pattern is from Finishing Techniques for Handknitters by Jane Crawfoot which I can highly recommend for other beginners as it has lots of really clear and simple instructions. I've also started on this little bag to go with Emma's dress with the left over wool. Its from Special Knits by Debbie Bliss which I bought on e-bay a while ago. What a 14 month old is going to do with the bag is anyone's business but I thought it was cute and another "challenge" (isn't every project?).

Yesterday I bought and buttons for the dress and some ribbon for the bag  in Hobby Craft who as it happens also sell Rowan wool but I'm very proud to say that I resisted temptation and left without any yarn. Needless to say that this is only because I've been busy buying stuff on the internet - I'm just waiting to find out if I've been successful on another ebay auction (only an hour to go!!).

I've also made a start on an essay this afternoon which is a triumph since I haven't done anything for 3 months. My pledge is to try to do something every day and that I'm not allowed to blog/ knit until I've read/ written something otherwise I'll never get round to writing my thesis! But the good news is that while I was doing some research into "real nappies" (the topic of my essay is the Environmental Impact of Disposable Nappies) I found this organic wool from Greenfibres. Not much in the way of information on the actual wool itself but the colours look great.

And I thought I would just finish with this picture of Wally "cat-guarding" the boat by telling our neighbor's dog George that he's not welcome aboard!

On Cloud Nine

I've been just itching to tell the whole world about my good news but I've been too busy to get some "quality" time to spend blogging. My DH keeps going on about how much time I spend on the computer. The conversation tends to go like this, DH "are you studying down there or waisting your time on those silly knitting sites?", my reply "I'm only going to be a minute" which is a complete lie of course. The worse thing is that he is right that I should be studying and have spend the last three months avoiding starting my thesis but I do object to his lack of respect when it comes to knitting - I'm sure many of you out there have similar experiences!!

Anyway, enough of this and onto our good news - we've had our offer on the plot of land in Scotland accepted, and under Scots Law that's as good as sold, with a few conditions attached. I couldn't believe it, in fact our solicitor couldn't believe that our first offer was accepted and we didn't have to haggle or go to a closed bid situation. DH and I are still pinching ourselves. If everything goes to plan we should exchange on 8th July.

After all the excitement of the plot sale we took off on "Sissy Jupe", who is my little baby (or "Pissy Soup" which  DH Paul often calls her).She's a 37ft narrow boat built in 1979 and was my home while I was living in London. In fact I met Paul on the canal on his narrow boat "Journeyman" which we sold a few years ago when we bought "Humber" which is the boat we live on. "Sissy" is now our weekend escape pod for when we need a break! We went through the Preston Brook Tunnel onto the Trent and Mersey Canal which is only an hour or so by canal from home. The weather was great (despite the forecast which said rain), and I got some knitting done!! In fact here is a picture of me actually floating and purling, and my painted toe nails - well since its actually summer now I thought I would get out the nail varnish. At last I've now finished both sides of Emma's Jumping Dress which are drying reading for me to sew in all those ends!! I plan to knit a little cream flower to sew on to add a bit of interest but if I don't hurry up and finish it little Emma will have grown out of it!

I've also treated myself to a bit more stash enhancement. After discovering the beautiful yarns on Hipknits I could only hold out until pay day before ordering some of this gorgeous stuff which arrived on Friday.Its pure silk in "Candy", even more  delicious in real life than on the web and a dream to knit with - so soft (well it is silk of course). I've done a swatch for Tropical Sunset by Jen but I'd like to knit it a bit longer to cover my beach ball stomach. In fact Jen has very kindly offered to help me with altering the pattern - what a sweetie!

My other news (yes there is some more) is that I've been offered a part-time teaching/tutoring post at the School of Architecture at the University of Liverpool. I'm over the moon about it. In fact I'm feeling a bit nervous about having too much good luck in such a short space of time. I'll be tutoring a group of students in the 2nd year undergraduate course. It's a great opportunity and will mean that I can use some of the knowledge gained on my master's course. A big thanks has to go out to my two friends Mike who teaches on the first year course and Christina, who's job I'm taking (she's emigrating to Oz) for recommending me - I hope I'm up to the job. It will only be a day a week but I'm really looking forward to it.

Well...........after such a mammoth post I thought I would just leave you with this picture of three Red Hot Poker plants I bought at the weekend at the lovely Lodge Lane Nursery right by the canal. They have a little timber shed where you can make yourself a hot drink and have a scone for £1.20 while listening to relaxing music - just my cup of tea................

p.s thanks to my Secret Pal for getting in touch - I've really excited by the whole thing as this my my first "exchange" (any excuse for a bit of shopping is fine my me).

Secret Pal 5

I'm so excited. I've never taken part in a "Secret Pal" exchange
before but I'm enjoying it already! I've just e-mailed my contact and checked out her blog so before I get too carried away with things here are the answers to my questionnaire:

1.Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer higher quality and/or natural
fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you?
I’m definitely a yarn snob as I really hate novelty yarns although I don’t mind something twisted with real wool like Rowan’s Ribbon Twist. I’m also a big fan of handdyed/ handspun yarn. I recently bought some handdyed silk from Hipknits which I’m completely in love with. Its so soft and yummy……………


2. Do you spin? Crochet?
No to both but their certainly on my list of ambitions (along with socks and cable knitting). A friend at work has four sheep (as you do!!) and has promised me their fleeces which I’m very excited about, although I’m sure my DH is going to be less than impressed. Three of my friends (all sisters) have spun before and have a couple of wheels so they’ve promised to show me the ropes!


3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.)
I’m allergic to dog hair and as an asthmatic I really hate smoking.


4. How long have you been knitting?
My mum taught me when I was young and I managed somehow to knit a pair of gloves with six fingers!! Then when I was 21 I decided to give it another go and bought some very expensive Rowan wool and an over ambitious pattern which I was doomed to fail. Towards the end of my twenties I knitted the odd cushion but it wasn’t
until I knitted a scarf in a night with some big wool and size 20mm needles at the beginning of this year that I became “hooked” again. I’ve since managed to knit my first cardigan and have nearly completed two other projects.


5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list?
Yep – but I haven’t managed to load it yet! I promise to do so in the next week or so.


6. What's your favourite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.)
I love anything with lavender or yalang yalang. I also love natural beauty products such as handmade soaps, shampoos etc from places like Lush (which you can smell almost a mile away).


7. Do you have a sweet tooth?
Yes but unfortunately I have Candia which means that I can’t have anything sweet – not even things that are sweetened with natural sweetners like honey or fruit.
My only “sweet” treat is unsweetened carob.


8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do?
I’ve done a few cross stitch things can love beading, although since taking up knitting again I don’t have time for either.


9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD)
I have a mini-disc player and CD players but I tend not to play music through my computer. I like U2 (I’m going to see them in Manchester on 14th June), Coldplay, Doves, Radiohead, Kaiser Chiefs, Morcheeba, Dido, Robbie Williams and easy listening “chill-out” mixes.


10. What's your favourite color? Or do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? Any colors you just can't stand?
I can’t stand green (except for the lime green which is currently in fashion and I only like that because I keep seeing it everywhere). My hatred of green stems from the fact that my dad is a big Glasgow Rangers fan and wouldn’t have anything green in the house which would represent their rival team, Celtic.
Apart from green, I’m not too keen on deep purple and probably wouldn’t want to knit anything in either black or white, black because it would be difficult to see and white because it would get dirty too quickly. At the moment I still love bright pinks and reds but I also have quite a lot of natural colours in my wardrobe.


11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets?
Yes a Cat (don’t all knitters?). His name is Wally which best describes his character and is a long haired black and white moggie, which is really handy as his hair get EVERYWHERE!!!

12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know)
In one sense I have too many but they all are about the same thing – being happy with what I’m doing and where I’m living. Its good to have goals but sometimes I have to remind myself to make the best of here and now rather than always striving for the next challenge!


13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with?
Anything handspun/ handdyed or from Rowan/ Debbie Bliss but as a new knitter there’s plenty more out there that I haven’t had the joy of discovering yet.


14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like?
Anything novelty, especially fake fur.


15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s?
Anything really but I would like to knit a shrug/ bolero, call it what you want before the end of the summer.


16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit?
Things which are small and quick like bags but I’m always open to a challenge and being a “born again” knitter there are plenty of challenges out there!!

17. What are you knitting right now?
I’m just finishing a dress for my friend’s little girl and I’ve got a summer scarf on the go. I’ve attempted to start other projects but I’m trying my best to finish things off before starting too many other projects……………..my patience is being seriously tested by this!


18. What do you think about ponchos?
Great for kids or very thin models but for the rest of us we might as well put a giant bag on instead.


19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles?
I like both having only recently at temped knitting with circular needles.


20. Bamboo, aluminium, plastic?
Definitely Bamboo or rosewood (if I had money to burn). Again I love anything that’s natural – it appeals to my environmental/ vegetarian principals


21. Are you a sock knitter?
No, but I’d really like to be one and recently bought a kit. I managed to knit two rows before giving up but I will try again because I believe that only when you’ve mastered sock knitting can you truly call yourself a knitter – however I have recently found a sock pattern on two needles (very temping).


22. How did you learn to knit?
See no. 4

23. How old is your oldest UFO?
Not that old (yet) as I’ve only been knitting “seriously” since the start of 2005 but I do have a few half cushion covers knocking around the place from previous unsuccessful attempts.


24. What is your favourite animated character or a favorite animal/bird?
None really. I think my cat is very funny but generally I like all animals.


25. What is your favorite holiday?
It has to be in Scotland on the west coast, preferably on an island like Islay.
I also love boating holidays but don’t get enough time to really travel far. I hate package holidays and too much sun but if I had the money to go abroad I’d love to go to India.

26. Is there anything that you collect?
Other than yarn not much else since my storage space is severely limited.


27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have?
Simply Knitting – a new British magazine.


28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on?
See my Amazon Wishlist (when I finally load it), also I find in Britain there aren’t very many good books on spinning!