`Tis done

The Tuscany shawl is finished, I rather enjoyed making it with each row being shorter than the last, and it is lovely and warm - so let them turn on that air conditioning now, I don`t care!

The picture just doesn`t do the yarn justice, it is lovely IRL and looks more like this. It was a real pleasure to knit with too.








Now to decide what to make next - yes I know Bertie and half a pair of socks are waiting for me, but you know how it is. I always used to be a one WIP person, but lately I have been led astray :-) There are too many nice things out there (but not enough hours in a day)

It`s official!

I`ve always known I am a Modelwidow, but now it is official. (well it`s nearly the same) DH came across this sticker when looking for something else and just had to buy it for me. Shame I can`t stick it on my knitting bag, wonder if they do a material one.



Knitting wise, I have finally managed to get hold of some Boyes Needlemaster interchangeable needles - Not that I didn`t like the idea of Denises but they just don`t go down small enough for me. It has been something of a trial getting these - I was unable to find a UK stockest and couldn`t find anyone in the USA willing to ship over here. On eBay most of the sellers wanted prohibitively high shipping rates to make it worthwhile until finally I found these. The price and shipping was good - I knew it must be too good to be true and it took 7 emails after buying to actually get the seller to acknowledge my purchase and send them to me - and he even had the audacity to ask for positive feedback!!!!!!

Still, I`ve got them in my grubby little mitts now - just need to finish my shawly thing, and decide what to cast on next to make use of them.

Not quite so Hot Desking

In my office we `hot desk` and just in case anyone isn`t familiar with that term, it`s just a fancy way of saying we don`t have our own allocated desk but just use which ever one is available.
Now, we all have different shift patterns in my team, which can vary person to person and on a daily or weekly basis - (I`m so glad mine is a fixed shift, I don`t think I could cope with constantly changing times as my colleagues do), so hot desking is fine if I start before them as I can chose my desk, but when they start first I often get left with the desk under the air conditioning unit,then it`s rather like sitting in a fridge.
At the moment my lovely scarf from my One Skein Pal is keeping the chill off my neck, but I know that soon I will be needing something to keep my shoulders and upper arms snug too.

So it occured to me, what I need is a Clapotis, I can wear it like a scarf on the way in, and then if necessary open it out a bit to keep more of me safe from the arctic chill. Yep, a clapotis would be perfect.

So, can someone please tell me why I am knitting this?!

I suppose it could have something to do with me falling in love with the colours,(it`s greener IRL and the purple and cerise bits look much nicer against it) not to mention that my LYS had just the right amount left in the reduced basket. It may not be a clapotis, but it is knitting up nice and quickly on 10mm needles, and every row is 2 sts shorter than the one before :-)

And here is a little chap I made in an evening for DD, the pattern is from Stitch`n bitch Nation, and the yarn is something soft and pinky and label-less that I picked up ages ago in a charity shop thinking it would come in handy sometime. In fact the buttons cost 3 times the amount I paid for the wool.
I like the way you leave a bit of the bottom seam undone so you can plug in your handsfree, looks like DD is chatting to a wooly toy!

And finally, it`s a good job this isn`t a smell-blog, I`m in the middle of making a huge pot of chutney, and it don`t `arf pong round here. Best go and give it another stir, poooooh.

Saturday Shopper

It`s not very often I see a pattern in a magazine and just have to make it now, but the Saturday Shopper in this months SK had that effect on me. I can`t remember the last time I crocheted something, (crochet was one of the crafts I more or less left behind with my teenage years) but it all came back to me - a bit like riding a bike, which was just as well owing to the number of errors in the pattern, including some sentences which simply did not make sense in english never mind crochet terms. But good old common sense prevailed, I worked out what they meant, and here is the end result. I had some left overs of cotton DK, but as I wasn`t convinced I had enough of either, I came up with this version, hopefully everyone else who sees it will think the two colours were a design feature and only you who are reading this will know the truth!

Despite my cursing at the pattern mistakes (which has made me wonder if I dare tackle anything else out of SK) I really enjoyed making this, and have vowed not to leave crochet for another ** years before I do any more.

Utterly Gorgeous

My One skein pal really is a star, my gift has arrived and it is absolutely gorgeous
She says it is her first completed crochet project - can you believe that? just look at it, and it is a shame you can`t feel it too, it is the most incredibly soft, silky thing you can imagine and it is feather light. Apart from the warmth and deliciousness of it you would never know you had anything round your neck!
It is made from Habu silk mohair kusa - there is only 14 grams in a ball!! I am so pleased with it I can`t tell you,

and just to show you how beautifully it has been made, here`s a close up! (Are you blushing yet puss?) She also sent me some chocolate, milk and plain (yum and double yum - this girl knows me too well) and the parcel arrived on my first day back to work after the 6 week summer break so it couldn`t have been better timing.

The card as usual was very appropriate - in case it isn`t clear from the piccy it says
"Mummy, what will I be when I grow up?" "Don`t be silly you`re a bloke, you`ll never grow up!"
DH looked up from his model aeroplane long enough to read it and chuckle!!!

It`s really nice to finally find out who this lovely lady is, (lucky thing lives near Holmfirth - Rowan country, Knitting and Crochet Guild, etc) It seems strange not having to call her Puss anymore, but I`ll be visiting her blog, Library Girl Knits to see what she gets up to.