Big Rubble

Knitting update.
I've been trying to get things finished and reduce the number of projects I have in progress.

This is a terrible picture of a great sweater. It's Big Rubble (Ravelry link) and is very warm and comfortable. Unfortunately, the sleeves make it difficult to wear under a coat. Can't have it all, I guess!

Walking the walk

We're taking steps, literally, to increase our fitness. (As per post of 1st Jan) As we like gadgets and need some motivational kick-starting, we have Omron pedometers.
It's very childish of me, but I keep sniggering about alarms going off to tell me Jimmy Saville is around. Glossing over that, mine is purple, J's is green.

I'm working up to 10,000 steps a day. I'm not quite there yet. J is. We took a reasonable walk around Saltholme this afternoon, but afterwards, I was waylaid by ironing, sorting out a cupboard and cleaning out the fridge to track down what that strange, cheesy smell was. Plenty of moving and bending, but not as many steps as J managed while planting up his bargain flowering bulbs in the garden.

I like the new wooden installation at Saltholme. Mad Hatter's Tea Party.

There are lots of hares around, too. 

In knitting news, I finished a test cowl, 3 days late, but I didn't think I was going to manage at all. It's a test for Brenda  of Artemis Adornments.  I'm going to send it to my brother, P, but persuaded a p-ed off j to model it for a photograph.

2013

Happy New Year!

I didn't make any resolutions last year and don't intend to this year, either. I do have a few plans and some goals, however. Goals aren't the same as resolutions. Don't ask me how or why.

Goals:

1. To increase my general fitness. This has dropped off significantly as my activity was curtailed by my abdominal surgery in the summer. I need to pick it up a bit again now that I've had the all-clear from my surgeon. I shall start by walking more, then I'd like to add some swimming and some running.

2. To reduce household expenditure on food. We spend far too much and still throw too much away. I need to plan ahead more effectively and engage J and j in the process a bit more. Sometimes it's overwhelming to carry such a large proportion of the responsibility for shopping and meal planning and cooking alone.

3. To save a reasonable amount of spening money for our holiday. We're off to California and Nevada again in July.

4. To knit from my stash and get it down a bit.

2012 knitting

Surely there must have been more!

Knitting update

I have been knitting.

I finished a sweater:

And the pair of socks that have been haunting me for ever:

And then I cast on two projects in colours I don't normally choose.

Vodka Lemonade:

and more socks:

Very patriotic!

Reclamation and refurbishment 1

I don't often buy knitwear. I knit a lot and have so much yarn stashed in the house that I've taken to calling it insulation and am contemplating getting Kevin McCloud round to do a feature on my sustainable approach to tackling keeping the house warm.

But, I do love a bargain and a poke around in a charity shop. Not going to tell you where my favourite ones are in case you get there before me. Last year, I was almost attacked in a branch of Age UK. I found a size 10 merino dress from East. Still had the £97 price tag on and was still on the website. AgeUK price :£9.99. I picked it up and continued to browse, when a larger woman tried to take it our of my hands.
'Are you buying this?' 
'Yes,'
'But I like it,'
'I like it too, it's in my hands and it's my size,'
'I don't care what size it it, for that price, it can stretch! Are you sure you're buying it?'
'Yes!'

I've had a lot of wear and pleasure from that dress this winter.

Anyway, last week's bargain was a sweater from Pachamama. I've always had a love for their sweaters, but they are expensive, usually too big for me now, and (shhh, say it quietly) quite badly made.
I bought this one - looks like it was never worn - for less than half the price of a ball of Malabrigo (which is the closest I can get to the yarn.)

Needless to say, it was huge on me.
So, I frogged it.
Do you know how horrible frogging badly-knitted intarsia is? Very horrible.

I reskeined it, washed it and rewound it.
I've got more than 700g of the pink and about 200g in total of the other colours.
I'm just waiting for inspiration, now.

Moderate waves

I finished a sweater. The yarn is gorgeous. It's Madeline Tosh sock yarn, from Loop, courtesy of J and j.
The greys are great. I love how they evoke the area we live in. That's not a bad thing. I love grey.

Half-term

and I'm very glad to see it!

I've been doing a bit of knitting:

I hoped to put my feet up a bit, drink coffee, watch movies and work on this a bit more. I had secretly challenged myself to finish it this week, but that isn't happening. The yarn is gorgeous. It was part of my Christmas gift from j and J.

On the subject of coffee and yarn, I received a lovely package in the post, all the way from Sacramento. It's my Knitter's Coffee Swap package from Liz. The coffee looks really interesting. It's from Temple and I'm looking forward to trying it.

We usually buy coffee from Whittards at Dalton Park and often order it for delivery from Pumphreys. We like to support localish businesses when we can. This week, I went a little further afield to Coffee Bean Shop. The service and delivery was excellent. Now, I just hope the coffee is as good.

Catchup

Every week I have good intentions about blogging and every week those intentions seem to fall by the wayside as each week is just as manic as the previous one!

A quick catchup:

I spent a lovely couple of days hiking around Gibisde with a group of kids and some hardy colleagues. We had a great time, but slept little! Gibside is a great location and the stable block, where we stayed, is a really interesting building. I had regular periods of feeling watched, though. I know the chances of that are pretty high when there are 37 of you sharing the space, but it wasn't that. Regular readers will know about my insomnia and night time wanderings, and it was the times when I was on my own that were most interesting. Need to investigate that a bit more, I think. Maybe not. Maybe I'm better off not knowing.

I've been finishing some small, knitted items as I haven't had much time/stamina/wakefulness to invest in a bigger item. I have cast something on in anticipation of my forthcoming half-term holiday, though. My plan is to sit on the sofa for a week and watch all the films the blokes won't watch.

Shivery!

Well, after wondering if we were going to get away without really having a winter, the weather starting to deteriorate a bit over the past week.
J and I got up early one morning to visit the RSPB Saltholme reserve in the hope of seeing short eared owls or marsh harriers. We didn't find them, but watched a flock of Barnacale Geese land on one of the lakes. It is very beautiful at this time of year.

 

In knitting news:

I finished a pair of socks for my brother, P, while on the train to and from the BETT show in Olympia. I enjoyed the show and it was a good day out with a colleague, but I know I couldn't do a really long commute like that every day (or even every week)! I did enjoy explaining how I got the socks to (more or less match) to the chap sitting opposite us on the return trip.

Then I finally finished my Hitchhiker scarf, in Sanguine Gryphon Bugga. This is gorgeous yarn. I was aiming for 42 points, but managed 36 - not quite the ultimate answer.

Next, I knitted up another hat - need to keep the wind off my ears these days. This one is in my hand-dyed, handspun yarn (merino, alpaca and silk). If I look wrinkly and knackered, it's because I am wrinkly and knackered all the time these days.

Happy New Year!

Belated, again.


I ended last year determined to reduce the number of knitting projects I have on the go. I was trying to get my Fiddlehead Mittens finished, but didn't manage to get them completed, lined, trimmed and blocked until yesterday. Surely these will keep even my frozen fingers warm.

They are made in Rowan Rowanspun 4 ply and Mini Mochi. The Rowanspun was a delight to work with, but the Mini Mochi was horrible. It split, caught on the tips of the bamboo dpns I used to make these and was very 'thick and thin' in places. I love the colours, but won't be using this again. I've come to the conclusion that I don't really like singles.


J and I went to Whitby yesterday morning. The White Horse and Gryphon is for sale. Were we tempted? Only briefly. We've seen too many episodes of Three In a Bed and The Hotel Inspector!

We walked for a bit and then drove up the coast to Sandsend and had a lovely latte in the Wits End Cafe. Great little place. This is the view back across to Whitby.

So, with only one work in progress on the needles, I felt the need to cast on something else:

Socks for P.

Mug is full of  Mocha Matarri from Pumphreys. I love the smell when I open a new bag.

Merry Christmas!

Yet another belated Merry Christmas!

December is always busy for me at work. Then, when I finally get to the holidays I'm too tired to even get a post together, but - finally - here I am.

We had a lovely Christmas. I thought all the gifts went down well, and I got some lovely things.

I've been catching up with some knitting:

A Gaptastic cowl for me in Twilley's Freedom Wool.

And one for J's girlfriend, J, in Merino, Alpaca and silk.

 Here I am wearing mine. It's very warm.

 I finally found a sweater that was a good match for the King Cole baby alpaca I bought on impulse in the summer. I have started three different sweaters/cardigans with this and not felt the love. This is Margot, and I really like it. I wondered if it might be a little short, but it's intended for wearing with skirts and to come just below the waist. So it works well.

I started a scarf for me. It's Hitchhiker and I'm making it in Sanguine Gryphon Bugga. The colour is a lovely mix of coppers, blues, greys and greens. It feels wonderful.

I have also picked up work on my long-languishing Fiddlehead Mittens. More of them to come later.