The Praise of the Needle
To all dispersed sorts of ARTS and TRADES,
I writ the needles prayse (that never fades)
So long as children shall be got or borne,
So long as garments shall be made or worne,
So long as Hemp or flax or Sheep shall bear
their linnen woollen fleeces yeare by yeare:
So long as Silk-wormes, with exhausted spoile,
Of their own Entrailes for man's gaine shall toyle:
yea till the world be quite dissolv'd and past;
So long at least, the Needles use shall last.
JOHN TAYLOR, London 1640
Monday, 7 March 2005
Wednesday, 2 March 2005
Lots of things!
For some reason our boys, Wally and George, are still under the impression that they are 6 months old and can both fit into their bed on the radiator. We know that is not the case however it doesn't stop them trying and looking a mixture of cute and not particularly bright at the same time. Aaaaaah!
Bedtime!
Mr Orc was very helpful and didn't moan at all about having to hold the wool while I wound it into balls. Five balls of approx 100g each and another 2 which are approx 125g. Absolutely ace. I've even cast on for the back of the Lucky Clover Wrap in readiness for the bus journey tomorrow. It looks so pretty already and that's only with one row knitted. Excited about it (how sad am I?).
Only 3 hours of winding
And to finish off today I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of the leaf edged camisole which I'm just kind of making up as I go along. It's turning out rather lovely and I think could definitely pass as a "posh" top.
Leaf camisole March 2005
The detail gives a better idea of the leaf pattern. It wasn't particularly difficult once you got going as long as I remembered not to count the slip stitch that was given in the edgings pattern book since I'm doing this on circulars.
Leaf camisole - detail
Off to see Mum on the way to Edinburgh tomorrow - snow permitting. Hopefully the bus will be fine and I can get a lot of knitting done on the way.
Bedtime!
Mr Orc was very helpful and didn't moan at all about having to hold the wool while I wound it into balls. Five balls of approx 100g each and another 2 which are approx 125g. Absolutely ace. I've even cast on for the back of the Lucky Clover Wrap in readiness for the bus journey tomorrow. It looks so pretty already and that's only with one row knitted. Excited about it (how sad am I?).
Only 3 hours of winding
And to finish off today I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of the leaf edged camisole which I'm just kind of making up as I go along. It's turning out rather lovely and I think could definitely pass as a "posh" top.
Leaf camisole March 2005
The detail gives a better idea of the leaf pattern. It wasn't particularly difficult once you got going as long as I remembered not to count the slip stitch that was given in the edgings pattern book since I'm doing this on circulars.
Leaf camisole - detail
Off to see Mum on the way to Edinburgh tomorrow - snow permitting. Hopefully the bus will be fine and I can get a lot of knitting done on the way.
Tuesday, 1 March 2005
Mr Orc helping!
A good day for post today as I received my parcel of wool won off Ebay. The most gorgeous skein of hand-dyed 4 ply yarn - a whole 750g of it for £15 including the postage. It was made all the better when I saw the label on it with an orginal sale price of £38. Definite bonus! The only thing that was a bit daunting was when I saw the size of the skein as I was wondering how the hell I was going to wind it up into balls until I thought "wait a minute, here's a use for Mr Orc". Who would have thought that a character from Lord of the Rings would be so useful in a knitting capacity. The skein lends itself to lovely delicate things but I have to do a few other things first.
Mr Orc helping!
Finished my leftovers vest at the weekend - still have to take photos of it so I can add it. Robert was even quite complimentary about it and said he liked it (shock! horror!). So could I sit with nothing to do for even a day or two - nope! I've got 3 balls of Jaeger Albany (in cream) which I got in a sale so using a fancy border out of my Nicky Epstein book, and a bit of thinking, I'm in the process of making a delicate camisole-type top. My first design from scratch in ages. Could be a disaster but then it could be rather lovely. We shall see how it goes...
Mr Orc helping!
Finished my leftovers vest at the weekend - still have to take photos of it so I can add it. Robert was even quite complimentary about it and said he liked it (shock! horror!). So could I sit with nothing to do for even a day or two - nope! I've got 3 balls of Jaeger Albany (in cream) which I got in a sale so using a fancy border out of my Nicky Epstein book, and a bit of thinking, I'm in the process of making a delicate camisole-type top. My first design from scratch in ages. Could be a disaster but then it could be rather lovely. We shall see how it goes...
Tuesday, 15 February 2005
A bit up and down
Been feeling all over the place this last week or so - I think it's the side effects from the IUS and I'm hoping it settles down soon as I really don't need to go back to being a depressed bunny when I've been doing so well. It's very annoying and I'm trying to talk myself out of all the down mindsets that keep appearing but it is hard going. It would be a lot easier if I had some work lined up but it's all a bit up in the air at the moment. I've made myself some choc/apricot cookies to cheer myself up - at least I get to control the sugar that way rather than with bought biscuits.
On a slightly more cheerful note I've got loads of wee things on the go at the moment. I joined the Leftovers Vest knitalong and I'm almost up at the sleeves already (I'll do pictures tomorrow when there's some half-decent light). I got my Nicky Epstein book through from Amazon so I've started one of the leaf edgings from it. It's kind of inspired me for a camisole idea with edgings and ruffles on it. I'm doing that in an old ball of Rowan DK Soft (cream) that I found in my stash cupboard and it should be a nice contrast to the Jaeger Albany in cream that I got in the sale the other week. A nice wide cream ribbon for straps would finish it off nicely I reckon. And finally I finished ripping out an old bikini style top that had lain, unfinished, in my cupboard for years and it is now to be remade into the ubiquitious Clapotis. This seems easy enough so far and if it goes well I can see me making it in a few different yarns to be used as shawl/scarf/etc for a variety of occasions. The yarn I'm using is an olive-green background with some cream, pink and blue slubs in it. Very pretty.
It was a SnB night on Thursday which was a good laugh. There were only 5 of us there (no "Ferryhill" mommies) so we could all fit on the sofas and be fine and comfy. Me and Theresa were the last to go home so we sat and yapped until we got chucked out of the bar. Hopefully there's going to be another one in a couple of weeks - they definitely help keep me sane. It's the Stitchcraft exhibtion on at the AECC this weekend as well so I will try to be good and not spend too many pennies. It's myself and Vicki's totally girlie treat to ourselves and at least she appreciates crafty things as well. I'm sure I'll bump into a few SnB buds there. Think I'll drop Wilma a quick email too to see if she's going.
Mum has been asking what I'd like for my birthday so I've managed to persuade her that some gift vouchers for Amazon would be well cool. I just have to write to her to explain how to do it as she is no expert on the online business. It will be a step-by-step guide - in great detail! Time to get the fire going and have a bit of knitting therapy. I'll have to get hold of the research paper which found that knitting helps reduce your blood pressure just as proof that it's *medically* good for me and not me just avoiding work or nasty things.
So what's the plan for the next few days to keep me happy:
1. do update photos of my ongoing projects;
2. do photos of my completed projects for the last year;
3. try and post them onto a wee gallery so folk can actually look at them - it might happen some day and;
4. keep myself on the happy side of things by being nice to myself.
Time to get a puddycat to cuddle methinks - now where are they hiding?
On a slightly more cheerful note I've got loads of wee things on the go at the moment. I joined the Leftovers Vest knitalong and I'm almost up at the sleeves already (I'll do pictures tomorrow when there's some half-decent light). I got my Nicky Epstein book through from Amazon so I've started one of the leaf edgings from it. It's kind of inspired me for a camisole idea with edgings and ruffles on it. I'm doing that in an old ball of Rowan DK Soft (cream) that I found in my stash cupboard and it should be a nice contrast to the Jaeger Albany in cream that I got in the sale the other week. A nice wide cream ribbon for straps would finish it off nicely I reckon. And finally I finished ripping out an old bikini style top that had lain, unfinished, in my cupboard for years and it is now to be remade into the ubiquitious Clapotis. This seems easy enough so far and if it goes well I can see me making it in a few different yarns to be used as shawl/scarf/etc for a variety of occasions. The yarn I'm using is an olive-green background with some cream, pink and blue slubs in it. Very pretty.
It was a SnB night on Thursday which was a good laugh. There were only 5 of us there (no "Ferryhill" mommies) so we could all fit on the sofas and be fine and comfy. Me and Theresa were the last to go home so we sat and yapped until we got chucked out of the bar. Hopefully there's going to be another one in a couple of weeks - they definitely help keep me sane. It's the Stitchcraft exhibtion on at the AECC this weekend as well so I will try to be good and not spend too many pennies. It's myself and Vicki's totally girlie treat to ourselves and at least she appreciates crafty things as well. I'm sure I'll bump into a few SnB buds there. Think I'll drop Wilma a quick email too to see if she's going.
Mum has been asking what I'd like for my birthday so I've managed to persuade her that some gift vouchers for Amazon would be well cool. I just have to write to her to explain how to do it as she is no expert on the online business. It will be a step-by-step guide - in great detail! Time to get the fire going and have a bit of knitting therapy. I'll have to get hold of the research paper which found that knitting helps reduce your blood pressure just as proof that it's *medically* good for me and not me just avoiding work or nasty things.
So what's the plan for the next few days to keep me happy:
1. do update photos of my ongoing projects;
2. do photos of my completed projects for the last year;
3. try and post them onto a wee gallery so folk can actually look at them - it might happen some day and;
4. keep myself on the happy side of things by being nice to myself.
Time to get a puddycat to cuddle methinks - now where are they hiding?
What kind of knitter are you?
You appear to be a Knitting Adventurer.You are through those knitting growing pains and feeling more adventurous. You can follow a standard pattern if it's not too complicated and know where to go to get help. Maybe you've started to experiment with different fibers and you might be eyeing a book with a cool technique you've never tried. Perhaps you prefer to stick to other people's patterns but you are trying to challenge yourself more. Regardless of your preference, you are continually trying to grow as a knitter, and as well you should since your non-knitting friends are probably dropping some serious hints, these days.
http://marniemaclean.com/
What Kind of Knitter Are You?
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Wednesday, 9 February 2005
The pink hoodie from SnB (no1) is finally finished - well when I say finished I just have to sew a few seams this evening and that's it done. It wasn't the most exciting knit in the world but I preservered as I knew I would like the finished article and it's going to be dead cosy to wear. Plus the fact that the lopi wool cost me £13 off Ebay was a definite bonus. The same sort of hoodies in Fat Face (cool shop) are about £50-60 so I shall wear mine with pride and much cosieness. Not that cosieness has been such a huge requirement this year as last winter - waterproofing has been a bigger necessity.
So what's next on the agenda? While surfing other folks blogs (as if I would do such a thing when I'm supposed to be working!) I came across a knitalong for the project I started at the tail end of last week. Pure coincidence. I've emailed so hopefully will be added to the list. Now I've just got to figure out how to add the button to my template and add the link in. Hopefully Theresa might be able to help me out with that at the SnB tomorrow night. It'll be nice to catch up with other folks progress on the leftovers vest top (Knitty: Winter 2004) and to see what colour combinations they come up with. I think some of them have actually bought wool especially for it but I've been really good and dug out a variety of aran and double-knitting that's been hanging about in my stash cupboard for quite a few years now. The fact that this one is on circulars too is a bonus as it means sod all seams to sew up when it's finished. It does seem to be quite a North American thing to use circulars rather than straight needles (or gay as opposed to straight perhaps?!) and they were a bit weird to get used to but once you've got things going they can work out easier plus it makes things more transportable. I have spotted what I would like for my birthday from Robert - a set of Denise interchangeable needles which give you about 40 different combinations of gay and straight needles. I could be good and sell off some of my other needles on Ebay then. I could but I probably won't...
I was naughty when I ordered Robert's birthday present from my Mum on Amazon and I ordered a book for myself too. Well I needed to up it to £19 to make sure that I got my free postage and since my family are so rubbish on the internet and have so far failed to make use of my wish list on Amazon to see what I really want for presents I had to order the book for myself. They all seem to think they need to come up with various things when I would be so happy with books and knitting or photography things. I'm a simple girl really - at least that's what Robert says about me...!
So what's next on the agenda? While surfing other folks blogs (as if I would do such a thing when I'm supposed to be working!) I came across a knitalong for the project I started at the tail end of last week. Pure coincidence. I've emailed so hopefully will be added to the list. Now I've just got to figure out how to add the button to my template and add the link in. Hopefully Theresa might be able to help me out with that at the SnB tomorrow night. It'll be nice to catch up with other folks progress on the leftovers vest top (Knitty: Winter 2004) and to see what colour combinations they come up with. I think some of them have actually bought wool especially for it but I've been really good and dug out a variety of aran and double-knitting that's been hanging about in my stash cupboard for quite a few years now. The fact that this one is on circulars too is a bonus as it means sod all seams to sew up when it's finished. It does seem to be quite a North American thing to use circulars rather than straight needles (or gay as opposed to straight perhaps?!) and they were a bit weird to get used to but once you've got things going they can work out easier plus it makes things more transportable. I have spotted what I would like for my birthday from Robert - a set of Denise interchangeable needles which give you about 40 different combinations of gay and straight needles. I could be good and sell off some of my other needles on Ebay then. I could but I probably won't...
I was naughty when I ordered Robert's birthday present from my Mum on Amazon and I ordered a book for myself too. Well I needed to up it to £19 to make sure that I got my free postage and since my family are so rubbish on the internet and have so far failed to make use of my wish list on Amazon to see what I really want for presents I had to order the book for myself. They all seem to think they need to come up with various things when I would be so happy with books and knitting or photography things. I'm a simple girl really - at least that's what Robert says about me...!
Wednesday, 2 February 2005
Having a really hard time getting up at the moment - I'm just finding everything really slow going. I don't know if it's connected with my lovely experience last week of getting my Mirena fitted but I've just felt really knocked for six since last Tuesday. I really haven't got much done and it's starting to make me pissed off with myself because I don't want to get into a bad pattern of behaviour. I need to stem the downward slide before it takes over.
We got our kitchen design back but Robert hates it - typical. I've downloaded the Ikea kitchen planner to have a go myself and he seems to like some of the things in that so with a bit of toing and froing and fiddling about we might get something that he actually likes at some point. I would feel happier doing it if I definitely had some money coming in but I reckon there should be something soon. I've been making a few contacts as well so I'm about to send out my CV to a few folk to build up on that.
And on the knitting front...? Finished my little beanie hat with the Opal wool and there's still loads of it left. I can't believe how far that stuff goes. I'm back onto my hoodie and I've finished the body of it so it's the boring sleeves next. They're already a quarter done so by the weekend I might be close to wearing it. I reckon it's going to be dead cosy - and it's pink of course which is always a bonus as far as I'm concerned.
We got our kitchen design back but Robert hates it - typical. I've downloaded the Ikea kitchen planner to have a go myself and he seems to like some of the things in that so with a bit of toing and froing and fiddling about we might get something that he actually likes at some point. I would feel happier doing it if I definitely had some money coming in but I reckon there should be something soon. I've been making a few contacts as well so I'm about to send out my CV to a few folk to build up on that.
And on the knitting front...? Finished my little beanie hat with the Opal wool and there's still loads of it left. I can't believe how far that stuff goes. I'm back onto my hoodie and I've finished the body of it so it's the boring sleeves next. They're already a quarter done so by the weekend I might be close to wearing it. I reckon it's going to be dead cosy - and it's pink of course which is always a bonus as far as I'm concerned.
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