Library Girl Knits!

The weather is gorgeous here today – lots of sun. I’ve pulled up some potatoes from 2 of the 3 tubs, but the 3rd I’m going to leave a little longer as it hasn’t flowered yet. I have lots of strawberries growing, and some peas are sprouting and so all is well with the world. It sounds silly but I get a real buzz from looking out at my food growing efforts 🙂
Oh, and I’ve been sewing…



[Let’s play a game. The first picture I have GIANT hands, and TINY feet, so guess what angle super tall DB took the pic from… The other two pics show a certain lazy sun-loving cat in the background. Can you spot him?]
For my birthday work bought me (amongst other things) a fabby fabby book called Sew What! Skirts, which I’d already seen Ruth review, and lusted after 🙂 It helps you plot out your own skirts without a pattern (you can make your own pattern too, but so far I’ve been happy to work straight onto the fabric), and it is so easy I could barely believe it. I’ve struggled with finding the right fit, or even just making something, from a shop bought pattern in the past, and finally I feel like I can sew, fix mistakes and alter what I’ve made. The book is never patronising, just very straightforward, and perfect for anyone who is scared of sewing garments. I’m in love with it.
First up I made the a-line drawstring with some cheap fabric from the market (this is NOT the skirt in the photo I should point out). Unsurprisingly drawstrings and my body don’t go together, but I wanted to try the easiest quickest one just to get started and build my confidence up. It worked 😀 Yeah it doesn’t do much for me, but it fits, and it worked, and I won’t be ashamed to wear it in the garden on a sunny day like today. And because I went straight to marking the shape to cut on the fabric, it made my sewing confidence go sky high. I might still take a bit off the length to shorten it so I can wear it lower with less ruching. I also messed up in some spots – misplacing the buttonhole for the drawstring, and next time I’ll finish the fabric edges first instead of after the side seams like the book suggested, but in spite of those it is still a wearable skirt 😀
The pics are of the a-line fitted skirt in Amy Butler’s Wall Flower fabric, which I have fallen in love with completely. I didn’t do an amazing job with this skirt I’m afraid – the waist had too much ease, so I first tried taking in the side seam, and then realised AFTER fitting the facing that it was still too big so I added some last minute darts to the front. That’s the lumpy bit you can see in the front of the skirt 🙁 I didn’t do a great job of those darts I confess, so I’m debating whether to unpick them or not. BUT I could use opinions of other people – DB is being all manly and tells me I can wear the skirt wherever I want if I feel comfortable in it, and refused to tell me if I looked stupid in it. Is this something I can wear in public e.g. to work, people? Honest answers please (and especially opinions from sewers please!). I still intend to go and buy more of this print and try and do a better job though 😀 I loooooove this print… I’ve also got a Free Spirit fabric (the green and brown mod dandilion type one from the Sole range) sitting on the radiator waiting for me to pick a pattern. I’ve got enough for a pleated skirt but I might just have another go at the fitted a-line with it till I nail that style properly. At least I can fit a zip reasonably well though now 😀

I apologise for my little hiding away absence there. Actually, no I don’t apologise. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed myself 🙂 I’m dragging myself away from the desire to post every week, and just sticking to posting when I have something to post instead! Last week was my birthday, and I didn’t really get all that into it. Considering it was only a week ago, it feels like months :/ I got some fab kitty goodies though to remind me that at least I am mentally still very young 🙂 And a PS3 (hence not so much time for knitting, although I’ve been quite restrained really!). And this, which frankly is the best present ever 😀

Kyuk! Not sure if my mate Sarah (the recipient of the pirate mittens) is telling me that I need lessons or just a source to fund the habit… 😉 You can’t see it too well, but underneath the knitting lessons bit it says ‘Is wool your dirty little secret too?’ On the side of the tin it says ‘I need a half gram of wool and quick! I’m starting to come down…’ 🙂
And just to prove that I have been knitting:

In spite of my lack of posting, these are pretty quick and easy to knit – the PS3 indicates that I probably could have had nigh on a pair by now, but I don’t care 🙂 I’m just enjoying the st st on the foot after the entrelac. And holding back on the weaving of all those ends. Gah! I had a look inside to see if I could find a way of just weaving the yarn through at change over points while knitting without having lots of ends, but nope. The second sock will also require about 14 ends weaving in…
I should point out that I have been knitting other things too, but they are gifty ones and a secret. I will say that one is on VERY fine yarn, and that another involves travelling stitches. Shhhh!
Finally, Roo tagged me for a meme.
1) What was I doing ten years ago?
I was in the middle of my English studies degree, busy having a whale of a time 🙂 That degree experience was so much more fun and enabling than the year of law, but I’d stupidly thought I couldn’t do much with an English degree. And yeah I was right, but life is too short, you know? The careers department had a computer prog that suggested I look at moving into banking when I graduated. Yeah, right, but then apparently it suggested that for everyone.
2) What are five (non-work) things on my to-do list for today:
1. Order DB some amazon vouchers for his birthday
2. Pot up my chili sprouts
3. Iron 🙁
4. Take photos for this post 😀
5. Do some gift knitting
3) Snacks I enjoy:
If I’m being good, I really like dried mango, but if I’m bad, then the usual chocolately naughty goodness. I’m feeling quite good that my birthday chocolate is all gone now – I love getting it, but I also can’t feel comfortable till it is all gone!
4) Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
Hire a housekeeper first of all. I’d probably still work in information and books somehow, to keep my dibs in, and make sure my family are all comfortable. But I’d like to think that I’d still be relatively down to earth and happy, just that the pressure to find X job by X time and Y travel expenses and Z bill payments wouldn’t be there anymore. And I’d buy a spinning wheel.
5) Places I have lived:
Manchester, Wakefield and Huddersfield. Not much to that really!
6) Jobs I have had:
Chocolate sales assistant (not made of chocolate – I worked on a Cadbury’s stall in a shopping centre)
Once I spent a few days making up those annoying signs on suckers people stick in their car windows. Not the baby ones, the crap ones with rubbish rude jokes on.
One day at a cafe where I did everything wrong – broke glasses, nearly set the place on fire… Unsurprisingly they didn’t ask me to go back. Luckily it was owned by a guy who was rumoured to like little girls too much. Nice.
7) Peeps I want to know more about:
If you are reading this, consider yourself tagged, but I think nearly everyone has done this now! Not convinced that Abigail has though…

Ok guys, as you may have already guessed, some sod has stolen all my contacts and used my email address to send out a load of spam about some stupid Chinese digital company. It really obviously isn’t me, and so please ignore anything with ‘hello friend’ in the subject line. And really really don’t click the link. I don’t know if bad things will happen, but who knows?

I should point out that I mean rows as in knitting, and not rows as in arguing… 🙂 Ahh, the joys of communicating by the written word.
Anyway, I finished some socks and frogged some socks 🙁 Luckily not the same pair though. Here are the finished ones:

Hoorah! There is a surprisingly large amount of yarn left – I only did 5 repeats on the leg, but could easily have made the full 6 if I was inclined. But I wasn’t, so that’s ok. The remainder will be sent to Ruth (Roobeedoo Ruth) when I finally get round to sending her some new yarns to try (I do have to knit them first you see). In fact Ruth has probably forgotten all about this plan, and might not want any anymore! The yarn is White Willow sock yarn in Medicine Woman, a superwash merino which is sooooo soft and cushy you need to go buy some from Etsy right now.
The frogging? That was the Karenina socks 🙁 Luckily I tried them on when I’d done about 3 inches or so, and realised that my crappy legs will not do the pattern justice. I’m debating what to do with the yarn now – maybe some colourwork socks, but also maybe endpaper mitts…
Anyway, back to the longest rows. I’ve done 3 rows on a lengthways scarf in lace weight yarn, and can safely say that this scarf will be on the needles for a substantial amount of time… 272 stitches plus non-lace addis plus me equals really non-motivated knitting, but I really need to do this and make it work, as it is a gift :S Also, the U neck vest is a slow burner, and again, after all the frogging, another one I am determined to finish regardless of how I feel about it. It’s from stash yarn, so if I can finish and it works, yay, but if I finish and it looks bad, no biggy.
Also, some new arrivals 🙂

Kureyon Sock yarn in 188. The little tangle is actually the inner end of the skein – I’ve heard a lot of people unhappy with the inside of the skein, but I’ve been lucky and got a good one. Hopefully I’ll be able to make a matching pair of socks, but it won’t be the end of the world if I don’t 🙂 I know that this sock yarn isn’t that well loved because of knots, tangles etc, but I had to try it when I saw this colourway…
And finally, the latest Socktopus sock club package (I think most people with have theirs now):

Mmmmmmm 🙂 The yarn is just deliciously soft and silky (a BFL/nylon blend from MiddleEarthKnitter), and I confess I have cast on for the pattern. I’m determined to finish a sock club pattern before the next package comes out, and this seemed like a good opportunity! And it is definitely knitting up quickly – the first squares are next up 🙂
Finally, make sure you go and visit my old sock pal Abigail is having a big contest, and all you need to do is comment on her blog 😀 Go over and see her and say hello 🙂

She’s inspired me – my birthday is coming up, and maybe I’ll hold a little contest myself… I might copy her idea (sorry Abigail!), or I might come up with something a bit different, I haven’t decided yet, but I should mark the occassion a little.

Well, quietish. My leave seems to have left me with very little crafting time, and also Shingles (very mild I should point out – I didn’t realise I had it till the rash came up, and even then it took a week to get someone to confirm it), both of which are a bit of a bummer. I just seemed to be busy all the time, and when I have had time, I have ended up sending several things to the great frog pond in the sky. The top down raglan has gone, mainly because I suddenly decided I wouldn’t wear the cardi in that colour. I’m not really sure what did it for me, but it is done. Life is too short etc etc. Don’t get me wrong, I love both the yarn and the pattern, but when it doesn’t work for you, it doesn’t work. I’m thinking of Zephyr Style’s Wicked in the yarn instead, as there are some really pretty short sleeved ones of it in the same shade as my Malabrigo. Malabrigo’s time WILL come.
I also started a cropped cardi from the Heartfelt Dark House book, in some Sublime Angora Merino (some mid blue). Apparenly I keep getting the wrong thing for this yarn. I got gauge, and started knitting, but again, just lost it. I realised I probably wouldn’t wear it outside the house, and I have enough of those types of things. I’m thinking of knitting Emily from the same book in the yarn instead, and have cast on for the u-neck vest in Fitted Knits for now.
BUT, I have made a hat from the Heartfelt book again – and a crochet one too! I had some Kid Classic and Kid Silk Haze lying around, so I decided to have a go at Gem for a quick result.


It’s a bit too big, and took even more frogging and re-crocheting. But the bonus is that I just ripped out an increase row and added an extra decrease row, and it was so much easier and quicker to do that with crochet! I’ll make it again in some leftover green, but definitely smaller. I just needed to finish something really this time, so I don’t mind too much that I have a bit of a teacosy head in this one.
Also, here is a progress shot. Half a pair of Monkeys in White Willow merino sock yarn (colourway Medicine Woman).

I’d forgotten how quick and easy these were. Well, I hadn’t otherwise I wouldn’t have cast on for them, but they are much quicker and easier than I remembered 🙂 And purty. I forsee these being finished quite soon. Still debating what socks to knit next though!
More purty things

How pretty is this?! I saw it on Etsy in Knittingpretty’s shop. It’s 370 yards of sportweight handspun, in pinks and soft subtle brown. I’ve already wound and knitted a little swatch on 3mm needles and it makes a really subtle stripe. When knitting it in slouchy bed-type socks, as it inevitably will result in being so, it should make a little soft variation through, so not striping, but movement of colour. If that makes sense. And it arrived so quickly too – within a week from the US. Very impressive. Go look and admire and lust after yarn and stitch markers.
And also this:

10 hanks of Colinette Skye in Velvet Bilberry. Yum yum yum. This will make a replacement hourglass sweater seeing as my grey one is stretched out and too big anyway and clawed and rather sad looking now 🙁 It has been a cold weather staple since I finished it, so I’m very sad to see it go, but also a little happy that it is a bit too big now 😀 This doesn’t feel like the softest yarn but from what I’ve read it softens with knitting and wear, and also proves rather sturdy too, which is more than I can say for cashmerino (which keeps its stitch definition rather well, but pills to stupidity within five minutes).
Lastly I’ve been baking lots. I’ve learnt how to make cinder toffee (very easy, but not one for people with bad teeth or lots of fillings…), flourless brownies (cooling as I type, with the hope they’ll be ok for work tomorrow for a birthday), and I also made hokey pokey biscuits with the intention to take them to work, but they were so good we scoffed them all ourselves… Heather might be interested in the brownie recipe (no flour at all! Dairy, but definitely gluten free as far as I can see), so I’ll post more info should they be good and tasty. No idea how I’ll get a gloopy pile of brownies to work though on the bus!

Weee 🙂 I finished Rosemary successfully with very odd chunks and bouts of knitting. I don’t think I’ll show you a photo on here though – the pic is BAD in more ways than one. The mirror was covered in dust, and the top isn’t really good enough to warrant a polish before my spring cleaning plans kick in on my week off (not this weekend while we have the long Easter weekend – have too many other things to do!). It was super quick to knit, and it has fab pretend sleeves (made by just making the shoulders wider than your own and minimal shaping on the armholes), and I’m pleased to say that I can probably carry off a deep v neck (i.e. I can knit Ms Marigold). But it is way too big, and as I suspected it doesn’t do anything for me. I’m happy though – it is finished, and I finished some knitting 😀 and also it is warm and snuggly and being too big, even without arms, makes it feel like a comfort top. And given that it is going to snow again and will continue to do so, and that I got to the point that I decided it wasn’t worth continuing to finish sewing up my Craft magazine skirt (too small in spite of carefully calculated increasing of the size, including extra just in case – pretty poor considering it is a wrap skirt too! Also I cannot do curved hems apparently. Straight hems – fab. Curved hems round the base of the skirt – Awful with a capital A), a comfort top is exactly what this girl needs.
But here are some photos of cat action. Joe wanted to assist with the sewing to the point where I thought he might eat a pin… Urk!
At first all is calm…

Then things occur…




Also I could do with some help deciding what to make next. My secret socks aren’t too far from finishing (the heel will probably be finished on the second sock by the time you read this), and I do have some socks of my own to finish (Denmark in Posh Yarn Emily in Elephant), although they aren’t really calling much to me. I’m thinking that I’ll work on the secret socks and my top down raglan in the Mmmmmmalabrigo, then I need to decide whether I want to frog the Denmark socks or not. At the moment, with the amount of time it takes me to knit, I’m tempted to scrap them and do something I’ll definitely enjoy instead. But nothing too complicated still. Once the secret socks are done, I have to try and start the cabled cardigan for Yvonne again (poor girl has been waiting longer than my sock pal for a sign of something!), so I figure I’ll work on one project for me (not including socks ;D) and one for another person till I’m done with my demands. But there are so many garments I want to make for me! It isn’t far enough into the cardi for me yet to decide where I’ll go afterwards, but still I’m drawn to the desire to make other things, cast on, knit something new. I still have those 2 Kim Hargreaves kits to knit up, and the yarn for Rowan Chrissie (the free pattern with 4 ply yarn and a little pocket and button embellishments, not the other one) has been in my workbasket for months, and Ms Magnolia is calling because of the deep v. And all those gorgeous socks out there! And the lovely Socktopus club socks I haven’t made yet. And mittens. Which reminds me I still need to finish the Fetching mitts… Perhaps I should finish those before I think of what to do with my Denmarks. Arrrgh!
Well, at least I’m keeping the number of projects on the needles a lot lower than before 😉 Any ideas what socks a gal can make on 3 or 3.25 mm needles without having to look at a pattern too much? Sounds like I’ve already decided to frog Denmark anyway. Maybe I’ll just go the plain st st route and try and make it quick. Or maybe I’ll make some mittens in the yarn instead given the snow! And as soon as I type that, the sun comes out. That would be a no then 😉
Update: I finished the secret socks through some miracle, and frogged the Denmark socks, and am working on Ms Marigold now. Woot! And also considering starting the first Socktopus club socks seeing as they seem a lot more simple than they look…

All is well with the world – those near and dear to me haven’t been harmed by the quake, have no house damage luckily, and the people I was most worried about after it happened? One slept through it, and the other wasn’t in the least bit bothered by this once in a decade or so occurance!
So what you really want to know is what I’ve been up to eh? First a recommendation. Last weekend DB and I watched the wonderful Eagle vs Shark 😀 Flight of the Conchords fans take note as it has the lovely Jermaine in it. It’s a really sweet rom com, but not your average one, as the hero and heroine are pretty much a pair of misfits – they get together after Lily comes second a computer game tournament at Jarrod’s party (where everyone had to dress as their favourite animal hence Eagle vs Shark). It has the same kind of aura as Napolean Dynamite, but is much more, erm, not gentle, but it’s a lot easier to feel warmed by it, and is less misfit-ish. Just a lovely film 😀 Lots of nice little animated asides too 😀 That’s probably not done much to make you want to go see it, but it really is pretty much a perfect romance story 😀
Next up, here is one of the secret things I was working on 😀 Annie gave birth some time ago (like over a year!) and I wanted to give her a little something, so I embellished some bibs with Aranzi Aronzo motifs 😀



There is another one that I didn’t get a photo of with a bunny embroidery. I’m quite pleased with them although I could have been a bit neater!
I’ve also been spinning some more BFL and now have about 70m with a lot more to spin up. I had two mini skeins which I was able to do a russian join on so that I could make a bigger skein. And I’ve also been spinning this tasty merino batt from The Ranches Angoras on Etsy:


(The first pic is much more accurate for colour, but you get a good idea of the overall thickness from the paler one. For anyone interested the green yarn keeping the hank together is Posh Yarn Helena 4ply so that might help put the yarn in perspective for some people – it’s a heavier 4 ply knitted on about 3mm)
For some reason I’m finding it much easier to work with merino now, perhaps because I know what to expect, but mainly because it is a batt rather than a strip of roving. I’m still not very tidy with it, but I’m getting used to drafting chunks of the batt while I spin as long as I don’t tear off too much fibre. I’ve been spinning yarn with a lot higher wpi, albeit not very evenly, so I’m thinking I’ll try plying this yarn. The way the batt spins up with mixes of white, chocolate and cherry, it should ply up quite prettily. It is currently about 14 wpi which is the finest I’ve made so far, and I’m particularly pleased given the weight of the spindles I’m using. I’ve also changed my mind about how to use the BFL. After seeing how fine I can get spinning with batts, I’m going to go along the scarf and handwarmers route with the BFL – I thought it might look quite cute in a garter st scarf.
As for actual knitting – I’ve managed one Fetching and a sock and a bit so far. Oh yeah, and this weekend I went to Up Country in Holmfirth and have ended up with this:



Weeeeeee! Look! Look how much I knitted this weekend so far! As I explained to the assistant, I might not be the ideal shape for a yarn this bulky (Rowan Big Wool) but I really needed that psychological boost for progress and capability. Yeah I’m doing better at knitting the sock and finer yarn, but I need to feel like I can knit for long stretches without pain and with some results, and the Big Wool and this pattern (Rosemary from New Shapes) were ideal really. I might look like a sack at the end of it, but who gives a monkey’s when I’ve proven to myself what I can do after all that time. And the pilates (sorry Amanda, but yeah, I should definitely get paid for this!) has definitely helped because I knitted about 90% of what you see above with proper posture, no slouching and my shoulders back, and that’s without getting a tired or sore back or any pain in the shoulders. Again, to reiterate, weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

So did anyone else feel the tremor last night? Yeah yeah they are ten a penny in the US, but earthquakes in the UK – BIIIIG news!
I thought somone had broken in as it sounded like someone running down the hallway – Joe cat and I both heard it. DB appeared to sleep through the whole thing. It was only this morning when I saw the time of the tremor on the news that I realised what it was. Blimey indeed!

Weee! Ok, after yesterday’s fun and games, I’m in a much better mood. That might partly be down to the loveliness of finishing projects 🙂 Unfortunately I have no photos though – you’ll have to wait till next week at least before I can show you anything. Most of what I’ve finished is to be gifted so I need to keep it quiet till the recipient has got them. I’ve also set the spin in my first spindle-worth of Yarn Yard BFL and it is currently drying with a big towel in it to keep the stretch. I’d had it wound on the swift for nearly a week, and that seems to have helped the yarn settle a little too although the hank spun around itself before washing.
I’ve also been knitting this weekend 😀 And I’ve knit what in comparison to before is a substantial amount! Woot! I’m back! Almost! I feel like I’m learning again – I can’t work with finer yarns yet, although I’ve knitted half a fetching mitten and a bit of a sock in a heavier weight (6 sts per inch, so closer to dk weight than fingering weight). I would never have thought even last week that I could knit 3 inches of mitten and 2 of a sock in the space of one weekend. I just have to hope that I don’t ache tomorrow from it now, but last week I had to stop knitting fingering weight yarn after 4 rows. Compare and contrast people 😀 Cross your fingers I’m not jumping the gun here please. If I’m not I’ll have at least a mitten picture 😀 If I am I’ll have some spinning instead probably – thank goodness for spinning using different muscles 😀 I’m not sure when this happened, but my pilates instructor noticed my clicking shoulder socket and said that it was loose in the socket from physio, and the looseness? It came from my spine and arm improving in condition and suddenly relaxing the muscle tension, so even though my shoulder is making a nasty racket sometimes, I can build up my strength with the pilates classes and some simple exercises at home. I have to say it is amazing what a difference pilates has made in such a short period of time – I highly recommend it to anyone who has any dodgy limbs or stiffness or anything. In a few short weeks I’ve built up my biceps to a degree you wouldn’t believe from the timescale and my posture is massively improved to the point where I look like I’ve gained an inch in height. I officially love pilates, even if it can be a bit of a difficult decision before setting off – pilates or chips and beer? Pilates has won so far, even on a Friday night 🙂 Are you impressed yet with my commitment to it?
Ok, you can go now 🙂

Just have to get something off my chest here so do bear with me, and if you don’t fancy reading a rant (a non knitting rant at that too!), click away now!
I’m a polite, considerate person. I say please and thank you, and stand up if someone needs a seat more than I do. So today took the biscuit when I caught the bus home. 3 elderly people talking about how this country would be a better place if we stopped letting ‘them’ in to this country, and, hoorah hoorah, the bus driver agrees with them. Because, of course ‘them’ make everything terrible here, and it is ‘them’ who bring up their chavvy kids so that they have no respect of authority or consideration of other people and swear every other word, and leave us with no hope in the scientific future because they don’t care about education (although let’s face it we’ll have plenty of manual workers in a few years time even if we don’t have any doctors). Great. In fact prior to that I saw a bunch of skinheads straight out of ‘This is England’ too. Must be the bigot’s day out. Or does that make me bigotted too? Probably, I’m sure, but I’d rather be bigoted against the real problems in society than against people who by and large do most of the jobs that residents aren’t prepared to do. Shouldn’t we be addressing our own attitudes to work and bringing up children than whether immigrants are ‘taking all the jobs and our benefits from our tax’ when they are in fact working their backsides off in jobs that are being advertised abroad because nobody here will do them? And yeah, the odd bad person gets away with stuff and gets in the news, but don’t residents do that too? Isn’t that why we have all the benefit fraud and tv licence ads on tv, and, you know, a police force (which probably existed prior to anyone entering the country from Europe when the EU was formed. Wonder what they did before any one started coming here from other countries? Probably told school boys off for using their slingshots…)?
Then, I ring the bell to get off the bus. The driver asks me whether I’m headed ‘up that way’ and I say yes. He says ‘yes?’ and I say ‘yes’, because it is true. He says ‘yes please very much don’t you think?’ and stops the bus before my stop. I was gobsmacked. I always say thank you when I get off the bus so I did this time, but why should I be accused of being unthankful when I wasn’t actually asking to be dropped off where he decided he should let me off? I didn’t ask him to let me off there, and wasn’t planning to. I was just agreeing to what he asked me, and he certainly didn’t ask me if that was where I wanted to get off. The bus stops have higher curbs to make it safer to get of the bus and he dropped me off at a point where the curb dropped to let cars go up a driveway, so it was a good 8 inches lower than the bus stop curb – is that safe? Is it even legal for them to do that? Probably on that one too. I’m not catching the bus on that company again. He’s dropped me off before where I didn’t ask to be dropped and I’m not going to put up with that attitude if he thinks he’s doing some kind of great service to me. I’m debating whether or not to make a formal complaint about him, but that leaves me at risk of being at his mercy should I need to get their version of the service again. But it also leaves other people at risk from his arrogance and attitude too. Am I being too easily annoyed by this?
People are rubbish. Well, most people I meet on a weekend if I leave the house anyway.
Thanks for that – I feel better now.