Tuesday, February 27, 2007

I like this one!

Thanks to Sarah at All Fingers and Thumbs for finding this fun thing. Unfortunately there were no pictures of yarn or knitting to show as my vice! But you get the idea and as far as the scenery was concerned I could have picked them all - never mind, I do love woodland walks so that will do for now!

Monday, February 26, 2007

Hmmm.. not sure about this one!

I saw this test on Acrylik's blog and thought I'd have a go whilst I wait eagerly for the last installment of the Harry Potter saga and here's the result:

You scored as Albus Dumbledore. You are very wise, observant, and analyctical. You have a very "well-organized" mind, which makes you function in a calm and fair manner. Though you get angered easily, its rare of you to ever act our of temper. You are constantly seeing the good in people and are naturally forgiving because of it. You're easy to please and a great person to learn from.

Albus Dumbledore

78%

Luna Lovegood

75%

Remus Lupin

69%

Hermione Granger

63%

Neville Longbottom

59%

Sirius Black

56%

Ron Weasley

53%

Harry Potter

47%

Severus Snape

47%

Oliver Wood

41%

Bellatrix Lestrange

38%

Percy Weasley

28%

Lord Voldemort

28%

Draco Malfoy

19%

Harry Potter Character Combatibility Test
created with QuizFarm.com

As I said - not quite sure if I should be Dumbledore but nevermind!

Friday, February 23, 2007

New Yarn!!

Well my Birthday is almost over! With all these parcels I've been getting my Birthday has lasted for ages now and what a lot of things I have to share with you today. First of all is some yummy 100% wool worsted weight Noro-esque yarn. This is about the closest my budget will let me get to Noro and it is really nice. The colours are deeper in real life and what looks like lilac here is actually more of a slate blue/mauve colour.


It sort of reminds me of sunset colours such as in this photo of a sunset taken from our front doorstep at some point.

Either way they're really rich warm colours
which are destined to become something from one of the dozens of Noro patterns Mum has. These two are strong contenders - I'm not sure if I want a jumper or a cardi yet. The jumper is from Cornelia Tuttle Hamiltons 2nd book and the cardi is called Butterfly and I can't remember which book it's from (some combination of 'Noro' and 'Nature' - not sure which one!) but this would have to be shorted than stated as I only have 500g not 550g as the pattern needs.



Also in the same parcel is some 'cashmere feel' lace weight yarn which is really lovely and soft. Now I know grey is a bit boring but it will go with all sorts and be timeless (or so I hope!) and should look nice in the pattern, Maldhi's Shawl from an old Interweave Knits magazine. Hopefully it won't be too taxing and looks a fairly straightforward pattern.

Next through the door was some sock yarn (HotSocks yarn) in a lovely vibrant colourway. Having just finished the other pair of socks (which I love even if I knitted the rib too loosely - no photo as they're not dry yet!) I decided I should cast on for a new pair. These are going to be Jaywalkers! from Grumperina and I'm loving the way the zig-zags are forming and so far it's a simple alternative to plain stocking (!!) stitch socks.


And in case you wanted more sock stuff here you go: some Blue Face Leicester Natural Dye Studio sock yarn. The colours are so much more vibrant in the flesh, much more lemon and lime and will be quite funky socks! But it is oh, so soft and squishy, so lovely!

Remember my Sea Spray hand spun yarn? It did get knitted up into a moebius which I forgot to show you back in January. It only stayed as a moebius for a few hours as I'd made it too big and need to redo it but I thought you may like to see it in it's short-lived beauty.




And taking of beautiful things here are a couple of pretty scenic shots from early February when we went to Portmeirion for a visit. The sunset shot was actually taken on the way to Mum's as we were driving (well I was a passenger) but it's not bad considering we were mobile.

This shot is just so sunny and peaceful that I just love it. Portmeirion has so many lovely parts that I could show you dozens of photos but I will leave it at this but it is well worth a visit if you are ever up in North Wales! And if you're struggling to think what and where Portmeirion is think of the series 'The Prisoner' which was filmed here and take a look here for a better look!

Anyway I think I've taken enough of your time today so I shall leave you with that and hopefully return shortly with some FO's. I should point out that all this new yarn was bought before the 'No yarn till WoolFest' pledge in case you think I've caved in already!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Green with Envy???

Well, blogger won't let me put the Woolfest countdown in with a post hence two post today! I do have some goodies to show you as my darling Mum has been very very good to her daughter on her birthday. May I introduce Romeo...




Those of you how read Artis-Anne will probably recognise the yarn as some of Posh Yarn's beautiful cashmere yarn. It is truly yummy and beautifully cuddly. Those people in need of cheering up would do well to consider treating themselves to some of this fantastic yarn - I'm in love!

So much so that with some of my birthday money (such a kind family I have to let me have a mad spending spree!) I bought some more yarn in Posh Yarns Sunday Sale. This time I got some lace weight 45% Cashmere 55% Silk called Emerald Isle.

Boy, is it Greeeeeen! Now I do love green but when I opened the pink parcel (great!!) all you could see was a giant clash of pink and emerald green. There are tones of blue and yellow in amongst it all and I'm sure it will be lovely knitted up.Now, I hope you've noticed I'm making an effort with my photos, making the most of the sunshine and utilising my front garden (I'm sure my neighbours must think I'm mad!). Now it could be said that I have gardeners green fingers, but at the moment it would be more accurate to say I have emerald green hands. Yes, my beautiful cashmere is making me look like I'm an extra from the Wizard of Oz or that I'm slowly turning into the Incredible Hulk! I've washed the yarn gently to see if any excess dye came off but the water remained fairly clear - the green it seems only wants to come off on my hands! Still I'm not complaining as it is just so soft. I have since been told that emerald dye can come off and can, like turquoise, be difficult to fix, hence the green hands!

I will confess that there will be further additions to the stash over the next few days / weeks as the results of my spending spree wing their way to me but other than these and once my birthday money is gone I have decided that I will join the growing numbers of those pledging:

Hence the countdown in the previous post! Now on to some FO's. I finally got DH to stand still long enough to model his hat for you all. He did protest a little wondering why on earth anyone would want to see his hat and trying to make sure I didn't get his face in the photo. He has reluctantly OK'd this photo which will probably be his first and only appearance here! Bless him he does like the hat and has worn it loads during this cold and snowy weather.


I was actually out of the house before the sun was properly up when we had snow here the other week and thought I'd share with you the lovely peaceful snowy sunrise.That by the way is my street.OK, back to the knitting. I don't suppose I should really count a single sock as a FO until the pair is completed so, depending on your point of view here's my latest FO/WIP. At least it's a lovely springtime yellow and will make up for the fact I've no daffodils in bloom yet!Finally I give you a sneak peak of yet another WIP that shouldn't be far off being completed (once I finish the socks which kind of jumped the queue!). I love the autumnal colours and the softness of the yarn, but seeing as I have rambled on for far too long I will leave it at that and tell you more once it is complete! Sorry it's been photo heavy but I've been drowning with Mum's horrible head cold (another birthday present but I won't hold it against her - she did say to avoid her!) and have been putting off posting for a few days until I felt up to it. And Boy, I think I've made up for the delay!

Before I go I really should add that Mum also got me a new knitting book to add to my growing collection - 'Domiknitrix' by Jennifer Stafford. Take a look at her blog to get an idea of the book. There are some nice patterns lurking here and there and some interesting ideas.

WoolFest!!!!

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Just a Quick Note....

DH's hat has been taking a looooong time to knit up and I was not enjoying it because it was so tedious and never ending, just how long should it take to knit 9" of plain stocking stitch?
Hubby had asked if the hat would be ready for next week when we'd planned a walk in the countryside as he's off for the week. So I made a major push to finish the hat but it was still taking it's time. Finally it was long enough to get an idea of what size it was (it's done on circular needles).
Well, it should have measured 23" diameter (can't remember if that's the right word or not, but you know what I mean!!) and it was in actual fact.... 33"!!
I could have been knitting a jumper at this rate, no wonder it was so slow growing. So needless to say it's been frogged and has speedily grown today with the correct cast on details and should be done in plenty of time.
I did tell him I'd a lot on my mind at the moment I started the hat!!

And an exciting note about coming home from my knitting evening. I come home through the docks in Birkenhead and so far I've never been caught out by the bridges being open to let ships in or out. Now I actually love seeing this and have been waiting to see this again. Anyway on Tuesday I struck lucky and the bridge was open letting a large ship into the docks. I don't mind the wait and enjoyed myself watching it go through.
Whilst the bridge was lowering down again a thought passed my mind: What if the bridge got stuck?
Of course 5 seconds later the bridge did get stuck. And properly. So eventually I gave up waiting and had another detour home.

Personally I blame Mum - she does after all say she's a Welsh Witch (good of course!) and so her Witchy genes must have passed to me!! So watch out!
Now Mum you do know of course I am joking so no curses please!! LOL!