Not Knotty Lottie

That 70's Show

2011-02-08T17:27:00.001Z

Yes I have finally finished all of my planned knitting for babies that were born in 2010.

Two cuddly toys and the Starsky and Hutch inspired jumper pictured above. I am really happy with how it looks, and even happier with the new dad's reception of it - he was over the moon.

I knitted quite a lot of it during DVD marathons over the past couple of weekends - Mad Men, The Muppet Show and That 70's Show. An eclectic mix I am sure you will agree!

Unfortunately I still have several other projects on the needles - including a 4ply jumper (silly girl) another shawl and my first instalment of the Socktopus 2011 sock club.

Really it is a good thing that I have decided to have a bit of a stashdown this year and not buy any yarn until knit nation (July). Right?

Well what a surprise!

2011-01-26T18:16:00.001Z

I realised something yesterday, something I am sure you all knew years ago..... If I actually want to get any knitting done, then I do actually have to take it out of the bag and move my needles!

This may sound simple, but I think I have got dragged down by having too many things that I want to do and not really knowing where to start!!!

Well I have been on two training courses this week that have been focused on goals and how to achieve them and rather than applying these to other areas of my life to start with I am using them on my knitting - that way I can see progress!!!

Last night I finally finished one of Sophie the rabbits ears and it is my goal to finish the other one tonight, which would mean that baby Ariadne can finally have her toy, I will have actually finished something this year and I can use the correct needles on that jumper I am so close to finishing.....

You know - I might actually get some stuff done this year!

There has been some knitting....

2010-11-11T21:41:00.001Z

Not much, but a little!

I have continued working on my 12 jumpers and was making very good progress up until the point that I started getting terrible pains in my right arm and had to stop knitting all together for several months!

So the current position is 8 jumpers finished (and most worn very regularly), one jumper on the needles, two jumpers just waiting to be sewn up - hahaha 'just' as if they haven't each been waiting over a year already - and one jumper to cast on.

Now if only people would stop having babies, I might have a chance to get some jumpers finished!

Testing testing 1...2....3

2010-11-11T18:02:00.001Z

This is a test to see if I can blog from my phone! I know that I have been a terrible blogger these past few months and have neglected you, however in my defence there has been a lot going on! Some of it sad, but recently some of it very happy. I have high hopes that the future will mean much more of the latter.

Day 2 of Elephant Hunting

2010-05-15T18:58:00.047+01:00

We went hunting for more elephants in London on Friday. There was a whole herd in Green Park. (Although I have only posted a small selection!)

And plenty more in the surrounding area! By 7.30pm I was up to 77 of the 158 elephants!

I am quite pleased with my progress so far, but I think I will just do a round up of a few elephants everyday - as at time of posting I am up to 87!

I'm going on an elephant hunt...

2010-05-13T20:48:00.030+01:00

You may remember Elijah from a previous post. Today he has been out in London making some new friends....

I will warn you know that this is a very picture heavy post!

First of all we went to the V and A on my way to work.....

Then at lunch time we went to High Street Kensington:

Then after work we went to meet some more elephants from the Elephant Parade:

Which brings my total elephants to 28. Which isn't bad for one day! Only 230 to go!

Bits and Pieces

2010-05-11T22:00:00.007+01:00

Despite my complete lack of blogging I have actually been quite productive recently!

I have finished jumpers 3 and 4 (so only 8 to go!). I have managed to painstakingly unpick parts of jumpers 5 and 6 that I had messed up, so hopefully they should get finished sometime soon.

I have been sewing - I made another bag like the one in my last post and then went to a Dressmaking weekend at the Papered Parlour in Clapham. It was really good and I am quite proud of the dress that I made:

So maybe it is not that impressive, but I did design and make it in 10 hours!

I am really pleased with how the back turned out -

I have also got some grand plans for future sewing, here is a sneaky peek...

And finally I have been adding buttons to anything and everything - I am particularly pleased with how some nice wooden buttons look on my new shoes.

Spring Cleaning

2010-04-06T20:36:00.006+01:00

I have been doing a bit of spring cleaning over the Easter weekend. I have had a few projects that have been hanging around that I have not been sure about for various reasons so I have now frogged them.

I love this pattern (Citron) and will definitely make it in the future, but this particular project had bad memories for me as it was what I was knitting when I found out that my Grandad had died.

I am planning on using the yarn to knit a featherweight cardigan - which is a project that I have also frogged over the past few days as the yarn that I was using just broke so easily - but to be honest the yarn is laceweight cashmere I am not quite sure what I was expecting!
Pretty colour though.

This is what they look like now:

It hasn't all been ripping back projects though - although I don't yet have a 3rd Jumper I do have about 5 potentials for that throne. They are all at least halfway through, so as soon as I can knit again ( I have got pains in my wrist/arm again) hopefully I will get at least one of them finished before the end of this month.

In other craft news I went to a learn to sew class at John Lewis a couple of weekends ago - I am so proud of the little bag that I made.

Hopefully my Mum will be bringing my sewing machine when she comes to visit so that I can sew some more things!

IntSweMoDo 2010

2010-02-14T17:34:00.004Z

I finally got some pictures of my O W L S. I have worn it several times and still haven't sewn the buttons on yet.

The second jumper that I started was Snow White - then I decided that I didn't think the pattern wenr well with the teal yarn that I was using. So then I decided to knit the fitted February Lady - I had knitted a whole ball before deciding that I would never set in the sleeves so it wasn't worth carrying on. So I frogged my Cascade 220 again and decided to knit St James, but unfortunatly third time was not lucky and by the time I had knitted down to the bust and tried it on it was HUGE!

I should really start making a tension square before I start knitting!

I have managed to knit my second jumper (well shrug really). It was a quick knit, but I really like it.

And now I have started my Ravelympics project....

Owls - IntSweMoDo2010

2010-01-17T19:15:00.005Z

I have finished my first jumper of the year - Owls . I love it and would like to make a cardigan version sometime in the future.

I am afraid that I have not been able to take one photo where you can actually see the cables which is a result of bad lighting and black knitting!

I can assure you that I am really happy with it and due to the lack of owl jumper pictures, here are a few other owl items around my flat. You have got to love those owls!

Selbu Modern and 2010 challenges

2010-01-06T18:55:00.006Z

Over the Christmas and New Year break I travelled up to Newcastle, while I was there I managed to use Fair Isle in an actual item (a technique that I had only previously attempted it in a class). The pattern is Selbu Modern.

I am really pleased with the result. I used the same yarn (Easyknits) that I have just used to knit a forest canopy (which I am also wearing in the picture above) and a single ball of Rowan 4ply soft in a lovely deep brown.

Knitting this hat in fair isle allowed me to complete one of my New Years resolutions from 2009 to try some new knitting techniques. This year I have set myself an even bigger challenge - I have signed up to IntSweMoDo2010 (which stands for International Sweater-a-Month Dodecathon).

I cast on for my first jumper January 1st and hopefully will be blogging about it in the near future!

Happy New Year

2010-01-02T21:08:00.003Z

I just wanted to say that I am still here, but unfortunately there has been a lot going on in my life at the moment. I am hoping for a better year in 2010 - and hopefully some better blogging!

The Epic tale of Elijah the Elephant

2009-11-18T23:05:00.013Z

Well I started off with some free Rowan Denim Yarn
- my Rowan International free gift (I didn't really fancy the free bag pattern).

This yarn shrinks and the colour bleeds when you wash it, so I decided to pre-shrink it before knitting with it.

So I used my niddy noddy to wind the balls into skeins tied each several times and put a three into a pillowcase sealed that and washed them at 40degrees on a normal wash. I thought I had been pretty careful, but I got a bit of a shock when my yarn went from this:

to this:

But in fact it wasn't as bad as it looked - the skeins were all still intact and could have been wound from a swift with some care. However I do not have a swift, so I then had to wind each ball by hand with the skein around my knees.

The blue bits on the floor are 'fluff' that has come off the yarn - it went EVERYWHERE. I had to hoover about 10 times to get rid of it.

I ended up with some hand wound balls:

Which I then wound into centre pull cakes on my ball winder:

THEN I started knitting! I loved this pattern and will probably knit it again - but not in a denim/cotton yarn. The tight gauge to stop the stuffing falling out / small needles / fiddly picking up stitches absolutely killed my fingers - I think it looks great knitted up though.

I am very pleased with him, my fingers have just about recovered and I think he looks pretty happy too!

Bernard's Hat

2009-11-15T16:35:00.008Z

Despite the fact that I have decided that I am not going to stress myself out by knitting presents for other people this year, I have knitted my Grandad (Bernard) a hat.

My Grandad is definitely knit-worthy, I am not quite sure why I haven't knitted things for him in the past. I think it could be because he was living with a knitter and I didn't think he would need any scarves etc which was about all I could knit then.

Anyway - I knitted my Grandad a cowl a few weeks ago when he was ill. He loves it - he wore it everyday when my Mum stayed with him. Mum then told me how he needed a new hat as they had to throw away his old knitted hats (I think they had got to the point of falling apart).

So I have designed a hat for my Grandad - it is quite manly, but also fun (this is for the man who taught me to roller skate and dance, despite the fact that he was 70 when I was born!). I hope he likes it - and I have written the pattern down just in case you fancy a quick and easy bulky knit hat as well.

Bernard's Hat

Size 10mm dpns
Super Bulky Yarn - I used LANG Merino 50 Superwash (colours 4480 and 4488) - 90m/100g
Edited to add- I used less than 1/2 of each ball

Cast on 48 stitches in MC (I used cable cast on for a stretchy hem)
Join in the round being careful not to twist - place marker to indicate beginning of round

Row 1 MC- Knit
Row 2 MC- Knit
Row 3 MC- Purl
Row 4 MC- Purl

Change to CC (*)

Row 5 CC -Knit
Row 6 CC- Knit
Row 7 CC - Purl
Row 8 CC - Purl

*I carried the other colour by twisting the colours at the beginning of each round, but you could cut the colour at the end of each set of 4 rounds if you wish

Repeat these 8 rows twice more (Rows 9 - 24 so you have 3 stripes of each colour).

This is a close up of the decreases (it's quite difficult to take a photo of the top of your own head)

Row 25 MC - Knit
Row 26 MC - K4, K2tog - repeat across round (40sts remaining)

Row 27 CC - Knit
Row 28 CC - K3, K2tog - repeat across round (32sts remaining)

Row 29 MC - Knit
Row 30 MC - K2, K2tog - repeat across round (24sts remaining)

Row 31 CC - Knit
Row 32 CC - K1, K2tog - repeat across round (16sts remaining)

Row 33 MC - Knit
Row 34 CC - K2tog - repeat across round (8sts remaining)

Cut yarn and pull through remaining 8 sts.

Again- difficult to take photo's of yourself - honestly I am happy with this hat and I hope I normally don't look this scary!

Please contact me if you find any mistake with this pattern- as it has only been knit by me (so far). Please only knit this pattern for personal use - do not sell the pattern or items knit from it without contacting me.

Many thanks.

Be back soon...

2009-10-28T20:51:00.006Z

Sorry to anyone who is expecting a proper blog post - I have loads of things going on at the moment, but will post again soon. Until then here are some of the things that I am knitting at the moment:

An Old Friend

2009-10-12T15:38:00.005+01:00

I went to Ally Pally on Sunday to help out on the 'Knit1 Pass it on' stand run by the UK Handknitters Association. It was really fun and I had a great time teaching people to knit or reminding people of a forgotten skill.

On my way out after a long day - I spotted an old friend.

I had a look around but couldn't see the ugly jellyfish anywhere - the is probably for the best though! The rest of the 'Coat for a boat' looked amazing though!

Magic Moments...

2009-09-28T21:56:00.004+01:00

I don't think I will ever fail to love the process of blocking:

Before

and After

(this is my 'Enchanted Canopy' Shawl - from Forest Canopy Shawl pattern by Susan Lawrence)

Goldfinger

2009-09-28T21:44:00.005+01:00

I think my favorite thing about living in London (except actually seeing my boyfriend - unlike before when I was in Newcastle) is the amount and variety of different things going on.

For example last week at the VandA I took part in a gilding workshop 'Be bold, be gold' as part of Design week. I took along an object to be gilded (surprise, surprise I took some knitting needles).
The needles that I took are a pair of old bamboo needles that I don't think that I have ever actually used - but now they look amazing. I would defiantly have a go again in the future.

It was surprisingly easy
- paint on the size
- leave it to dry
- talc your fingertips
- lay the gold leaf on the item
- rub it with a paintbrush

And admire.....

My name in lights ...... well not quite

2009-09-24T07:53:00.004+01:00

But it is my name in print and I am quite excited anyway!

The book comes out in the beginning of October (Amazon informs me on the 7th) but I got my preview copy early. The book has got lots of nice pictures and it does look good, but I am not quite sure who will need / want to knit 30 different Coffee cozies? Mind you I can't really talk as I have an increasing pile of hand-knit shawls in my bedroom!

I am still very proud - I think it looks great!

I love lace!

2009-09-22T08:12:00.009+01:00

After my original thoughts about knitted lace disappeared (i.e who would wear a shawl) it turns out that I think lace is my favorite thing to knit ever (well at least right now)!

I finished my second Ishbel shawl in time to wear it to the wedding, it is a gorgeous dark purple tweedy yarn - hmmm maybe tweed lace is my favorite thing to knit ?

I had also completed my first ever garment Lisel (also designed by Ysolda Teague) which only took a couple of days to knit - I am really pleased with it and have started knitting another - this time with sleeves.

The second one may take a little longer as I have been distracted by yet more lace! Forest Canopy shawl - I have named my version enchanted forest though due to the stunning colours of the yarn that I am using:
And with the lace spread out a little so you can see the leaves:

I Knit Weekender

2009-09-15T13:24:00.012+01:00

I had a brilliant time on Friday and Saturday last week. I spent two days at the Royal Horticultural Halls surrounded by knitting.

Friday morning I met up with Sue (despite having forgotten my phone in all the excitement to get there) and we went to a talk about 'Unexpected Knitting' by Debbie New. I was really inspired by this talk and hope to one day knit my own lace boat - kidding (kind of). Debbie showed us all sorts of fascinating items and garments - I really loved her kaleidoscope cones.

Then on to the marketplace which was full of so many amazing yarns, I could hardly choose. After several walks around and seeing many familiar faces I purchased some lovely things:

A shawl pin

A large purple button

Some 2ply Lambswool (black)

Some 2ply Alpaca (black)

And some stunning purple 2ply 100% silk

Can you tell that I have been bitten by the lace bug? Or that I love black and purple?

Then on Friday afternoon I met up with Mel to go to the Alice Starmore talk 'Influences on Design'. Alice showed some stunning photographs of the Isle of Lewis and talked a little about the history of the way of life there. Very interesting - I am not sure it has quite convinced me on knitting a whole 4ply fair-isle jumper, but I am pretty sure I have said the same about lace in the past so who knows!

I then made my way over to the Knitting and Crochet Guild stand to help out there for a bit - I did nip off when it was quiet to go and get my Whimsical Little Knits book signed by Ysolda Teague (please note the purple tweedy Ishbel - I am going to get some better photos for a later blog).Thanks to Sue for the photo! (I fell in love with the jade coloured jumper that is just over my shoulder - there maybe some more grey chunky knitwear in my future...)

Then to end the day a fashion show, there were some very wearable knitted items and some that I would need to be convinced of to leave the house - but very impressive none the less.

Then Saturday began with a bit more inspiration (i.e shopping) where I managed to only buy a set of KnitPro metal interchangeable needles (starter pack only) that I have been lusting after for an age. I love my Denise Set - but these ones are shiny :) I was really pleased because I managed to finish my Leisl (which I had only started on Wednesday night) on Friday so that I could wear it on Saturday (again further pictures to come!)

I then had a class with Annie Modesitt - amazing knitter/teacher/ woman. I learnt loads about modular knitting and was shocked to learn that the squares are not made by increasing then decreasing, but by decreasing only - the crazy world of knitting!

Then another couple of hours on the guild stand where I was lucky enough to get to chat to Joyce Meader and Woolly Thoughts - Pat Ashworth and Steve Plummer for a couple of minutes.

All in all a great two days - Thank you I Knit - see you again next year?

Bank Holiday Weekend

2009-09-01T21:35:00.008+01:00

I was very busy this weekend:

Knitting

Spinning

Dying
I also managed to buy a new bike and go for a 7 1/2 mile walk. I need a holiday!

Happiness is.....

2009-08-14T13:56:00.002+01:00

I have finally finished voting on the Ravelry 2nd Annual Bobby Awards. I was lucky to be part of the 200 volunteers to narrow down the original nominations to a more manageable size.

It has been really interesting and I have really enjoyed it, my queue and favorites have grown exponentially. It has also been hard work 6419 nominations spread over 30 categories. We were allowed to vote for 5 items in each category (which was soooo difficult - most colourful stash nearly killed me!). The deadline is on Sunday (I know shocking that I got something done before the last minute)

I can't wait to see what the final selections for everyone to vote for will be. I am really looking forward to getting back to having some knitting time in the evenings! I love Ravelry.

Injury Time

2009-08-02T19:19:00.003+01:00

Hello, just wanted to write and say sorry - I was planning on finally doing a photo shoot of some finished objects, but no can do! I have fallen on my foot and now can't walk/move (I'm gonna see how it feels later because I think I could have potentially broken a couple of toes). I will have to take the photos another day, because my poor boyfriend is already having to run around after me as it is!

Last week of the tour de fleece and knitting swaps

2009-07-20T21:24:00.004+01:00

I have continued to spin everyday. I am very proud of myself. I will take photos of all my yarn on Sunday (there isn't that much of it, but I do love it all). I did want to post today to show off the lovely parcel I received from my UK swap partner:

This photo does not do it justice - my camera is still not working and the camera on my phone had a bit of a breakdown this evening - ARGH! I love everything- but the Space Invader necklace I am absolutely over the moon with! There is also a beautiful wooden shawl pin. It is all just perfect!

I really hope that my swap partner will like her package half as much as I love mine!

Tour de Fleece - Update week 1

2009-07-13T19:59:00.004+01:00

Well today is a rest day ( I might still do a little bit of spinning though). Despite my camera still not working, I have managed to take some photos with my phone.

My first properly finished wheel yarn:

This was spun as two singles, then plied using the wheel as well. I am very pleased it. I have washed it to set the twist and just need to knit it now!

This is a picture of my week 1 totals:

-The caked yarn is above

- The red yarn on the drop spindle was spun on the wheel, but then plied on the spindle

-The brown baby alpaca was spun on the wheel - I have another 1/2 to do then I can ply it.

Tour de Fleece - Day 4

2009-07-08T22:33:00.002+01:00

Well I have not had the best day - my bike was stolen and now my camera refuses to be connected to my computer. Argh! I can assure you that I did do some spinning last night - and I will do a tiny bit tonight. Hopefully next week I will be able to get a bit more done after my course has finished.

Tour de Fleece - Day 3

2009-07-07T22:34:00.003+01:00

This is the result of plying day 1 and day 2 together. I am pretty pleased with it. You can probably see the corner of my Ishbel blocking in the background.

Today I have done some drop spindling (I actually managed to move on from park and draft!). I'll post a picture of that tomorrow.

Tour de Fleece - Day 2

2009-07-06T22:38:00.002+01:00

Yes it looks almost exactly the same as day one - my plan for tonight is to attempt to ply the two. Who knows how it will look!

Tour de Fleece - Day 1

2009-07-05T18:10:00.004+01:00

This is the wheel that I borrowed from the Guild

I spun about half of this

And it became this

Not too bad for a second attempt - hopefully we should see some improvement over the next few weeks. Mind you if this morning's attempt was anything to go by - it might be back to the drop spindle for me!

I'm off to do my day 2 spinning now - will post pictures of that tomorrow.

Sock Tour of the North East

2009-06-29T22:01:00.008+01:00

I have just returned from a nice break in Newcastle. It was a good chance for me to catch up with family, friends and my previous work colleagues.

However, it also gave my current sock in progress (sock 2 of Cookie's Kai - Mei) a chance to have a Yarn Harlot style tour of the North East:
The sock saw the Tyne Bridge

The 'Get Carter' car park

The Angel of the North

And the Botanical gardens.

While I was away I had quite a lot of knitting time so I started Ishbel by Ysolda Teague. I bought Ysolda's book a week or so ago and was able to cast on almost straight away as you also get a digital copy of the book! What a great idea.

I have never really planned on knitting a shawl as I just didn't think I would ever actually wear one, but after seeing many gorgeous photos of this being worn as a scarf. Especially nice with the matching beret - fingers crossed I have enough yarn left!

I have even surprised myself by liking the variegated Araucania Ranco. After making a pledge to only buy solids or semi solids from now on - I just might have to reconsider after seeing how this is turning out. Let's just ignore the fact that I have messed up the lace...

Treasure hunting...

2009-06-15T13:28:00.006+01:00

Had a brilliant Saturday with Mel and Sue - we took part in I Knit London's Knitting Treasure Hunt!

There were all sorts of different challenges:

We had to find 10 sheep around London (pub signs/statues/painting etc)and answer the corresponding 5 questions at each location

We had to collect some treasure including
Photograph knitting with a pigeon

Photograph knitting with a policeman

Photograph knitting in a red phone box

Photograph with knitting on a statue

(I still say we should have got extra points for getting our statue to knit)

Photograph knitting with a celebrity

Photographs with us knitting at London landmarks beginning with:

F - Fountains

L - Lions

E - Eye (London Eye)

E - Embankment

C - Covent Garden

E - Elgin Marbles

We had to buy souvenirs beginning with:
W - Wimbledon Tube Sign
O - Oxford Street Keyring
O - Ran out of time!
L - London Tea

And a postcard with a sheep on it!

On top of all that we also had to fill in the gaps of tube stations / find which letters came from which street signs in Lower Marsh and protect our balloon from being popped by other teams (it was a 5 point bonus if you returned with it intact).

Finally we had to knit a scarf as long as possible during the day!

Overall I think we did really well, especially as we managed to have a lovely lunch in between. And well done to Mel for keeping the balloon safe from attack all day!

The first cut is the deepest

2009-06-08T09:37:00.012+01:00

A bit of a weird blog title - but I learnt how to steek (more about that in a bit...)

It was a shame that it was such a wet and dreary day, but that did not stop me (and many others) from braving the rain to visit the outside stalls.

I bought lots of lovely yarn (mainly for socks), some buttons and some fibre (ready for the tour de fleece).

I took part in two workshops – the first of which was Jon from Easy Knits teaching us how to dye.

Well I have attempted dyeing with kool aid before with differing results:

But in this workshop we used acid dyes. It was really fun and although my yarn didn’t quite turn out as anticipated – I love it. Just need to find a sock pattern worthy now!

We really had a laugh and Jon was great – if you ever get a chance to attend one of his workshops don’t miss out! The Gingerbread men that came in the kit didn’t last very long either!

Then time for a bit more shopping and lunch before the Meg Swansen talk. It was really amazing to see the woman herself – a little surreal as she was speaking to us from a church altar. Really enjoyable though.

I then managed to get my ‘Knitting Glossary’ DVD signed and meet the woman herself. Once again I got massively star struck (just like meeting the Yarn Harlot last year) – and didn’t manage to say anything except my name. Oh dear.

Then my second workshop of the day was with Jared Flood aka Brooklyn Tweed. His class was really brilliant aswell – at first I felt really nervous as everyone else in the class seemed to have knitted incredibly intricate cable jumpers before. This however did not seem to matter, and I managed to keep up with the pace.

We did:

Cables without a cable needle

Sewing needle bind-off (really elastic)

Picking up stitches

and

Steeking.

Now for those who aren’t knitters – steeking involves cutting through the middle of your knitting to produce openings e.g. neckholes/cardigan fronts/armholes.

Steeking allows you to knit your entire piece in the round and then cut these bits at the end.

We learnt how to do a crochet steek:

Here is my swatch -

Basting thread for where I will be cutting -

Crochet chain along both sides -

And cut.....

Although I was pleased with how this turned out – I might still practice it a few more times before using it on a garment!

Etsy Etsy Etsy

2009-06-01T19:36:00.003+01:00

I have finally opened my Etsy shop - yippee! Although I have only listed 5 items - I have lots more to come. I am really excited!

It is going to be a busy craft filled summer. Ravelry day on Saturday and on Sunday our local city farm is having a sheep shearing day with spinning demonstrations.

Then it's the I Knit London Treasure Hunt - which my bf thinks I have just made up :)

I have signed up to an online knitting swap (more about that another day)

I am going to take part in this years Tour de Fleece where you have to spin a bit for everyday of the Tour de France!

Hopefully that means that I will have some actual things to blog about - who knows I might even do some actual knitting!

Coat for a Boat Disaster

2009-05-27T21:05:00.007+01:00

I decided to finally brave posting the photos of my knitting - FAIL....

This is the Jellyfish (yes, I know it's awful). This is my lovely boyfriend's favorite knitted item ever - he finds it hilarious and wanted to know if we would get it back after the Coat for a Boat Exhibit. It is on top of the seaweed that my boss knitted. I am hoping never to see it again!

I was much happier with my lobster...
Especially as it actually looks how it is supposed to!

The post of shame - or the many projects of Lottie!

2009-05-22T13:45:00.002+01:00

I have got so many projects on the go!

First off I have a pair of socks, these were planned as tube knitting - but have now got to the heel and the lace part on the foot so it's a no to doing those on the tube until I get back to an easy bit!
Kai-Mei designed by Cookie a (from her new book Sock Innovation)

I still have not managed to successfully sew up my first jumper (I tried AGAIN last weekend)- the pattern was really easy, Granite by Erika Knight. The cackhanded sewing up - all me!

My 'Credit crunch' lace topped cardigan - the three parts have been knitted - I have knitted one button band (cast off a tiny bit too tight - grrr despite trying my hardest to cast off loosely)

Oh yeah that illusion scarf I started for my brother for Christmas... I might just put that away for a couple of months - not top of my to do list I am afraid!

Lobster and octopus for the Coat for a Boat - were finished! Not massivly happy with them, but they have been sent off.

My felted bag is continuing (slowly) I'm not sure I like Intarsia - plus I am not sure what I am doing counts as Intarsia!

I had to pull down my second Baby Surprise Jacket and start again this morning (My new tube project). The baby was born 2 days ago, so I should probably get a move on...

And my most shameful unfinished project.... my iPod cover which I knitted (actually I can't even remember when I knitted it - that's bad isn't it?) all I need to do is sew on one button and a loop to fasten it.

Oh yeah.. I have just started to swatch for a new jumper (despite the other 2 not being sewn up).

And on that note I am going to hang my head in shame - maybe start another project to make myself feel better... I am definatly a process knitter - no risk of any finished projects around here for a while!

A New Toy

2009-05-11T08:01:00.004+01:00

Went to pick up my first birthday present on Sunday.

I am really excited to give it a go, this machine is actually older than me so it might need a little bit of tlc before I get started. Plus to be fair I have never even seen a knitting machine in use so I may have to dedicate a whole weekend to working it out (using youtube).

I don't think it will ever pursude me to stop handknitting though - it just isn't quite so portable. It does seem a little bit like cheating!

NEWSFLASH

2009-05-04T09:29:00.002+01:00

I am missing a knitting needle! I had it yesterday morning when I was knitting in bed (we have friends over - the front room is out of bounds). I then got my knitting out on the tube and only had 3 dpns! Luckily the ones that the sock was actually on.

Had a lovely day out in London, the needle would just be at home - right?

Wrong! I can't find it anywhere, I have taken all the bedding off, shaken everything down and still no needle!

I just hope it isn't my boyfriend who finds it - I don't think he will be very happy!

Ravelry Rambling

2009-04-23T21:34:00.002+01:00

I am so proud - as of now I am an official designer on Ravelry! I was really pleased when I saw my name and pattern printed in this months Knitting magazine, but this might possibly be more exciting!

http://www.ravelry.com/designers/charlotte-packham

Fingers crossed it is the first design of many.....

I am still here

2009-04-21T14:24:00.003+01:00

I just wanted to say that I am still here - but we have got 'pay as you go' Internet while we are waiting for a phone line in our new flat.

It is incredibly slow (slower than dial-up if you are trying to do anything important- like update your blog/ twitter).

I am using my time wisely though by re-designing my blog (you may notice a few changes already) and finally taking photos to do my Etsy page! Yippee.

I will be back....

Stress!

2009-03-31T19:54:00.003+01:00

Why is it that everything has to happen at once?

Plus I am apologising in advance for lack of photos / lack of posting over the next few weeks. Hopefully once we have moved, I will calm down (I think eating chocolate again may also help).

Knitting has not really helped - partly because I am getting really frustrated trying to sew up my jumper and failing repeatedly.

Maybe I will start needle felting again .... that could be theraputic!

Turning Japanese...

2009-03-22T17:38:00.005Z

Sakuban terebi o mimasita sochite amimono o shimashita.

(Last night I watched TV and did some knitting)

I am really enjoying Japan season on BBC 4. Watched about five programmes yesterday, loved them all, plus as I was watching them I knitted some sushi. I knitted it for my Japanese teacher Yuki because it is my last lesson on Thursday.

I think it looks quite good

I also finished sock number 1, which I am also pretty pleased with (just need to start the second one now)

Can you tell that it was a nice day, so I spent some time posing knitting items in our garden?

Busy, busy, busy

2009-03-16T19:26:00.002Z

Another busy weekend, enjoyable, but I quite fancy a nice weekend at home, where I actually get to do some knitting! Not only do I have loads of projects to finish off (a jumper, a cardigan and socks all spring to mind), but there are loads more things that I really need to start.

Our friends have just had a baby boy, and my cousins baby is due in May. I am planning on knitting a lobster for the Coat for a Boat project. I am really excited about that pattern! I also have an un-bloggable project that I need to start! Hmmmm

Maybe I had better get started - or maybe I'll just spend a little more time on Twitter...

Photography Fail!

2009-03-08T20:38:00.005Z

Well it has been a busy weekend, on Saturday I went to a knitting class at I knit London. It was really good, I learnt a lot :

How to cable without a cable needle
Knitting backward
Magic loop
Judy's magic cast-on
Turkish cast-on
Norwegian Purl
Channel Island cast on
Short rows and wrapping stitches
and the basics of entrelac including picking up stitches.

Quite a busy 3hours, it was great because there were only three of us in the group so we got a lot done!

I'm not sure I will use all of these in the future (Channel Island cast on - very interesting, but possibly a little too fiddly) and I won't use Norwegian Purl unless I sort out my tension in continental knitting - it could happen though!

Knitting backwards I can really see being useful, not having to turn the work (especially for short rows), plus the magic loop technique and cast-ons for toe-up socks.

Then today I spent the day trying to sort out my Etsy shop, this has not really happened, mainly due to some truly terrible photography:

(My laptop has now gone on strike, (it is obviously trying to save you from the horrors) but just imagine some really blurry photographs and you will get the idea!)

Everything else is basically sorted, I just need some good light to attempt some more photographs and type up all the details etc!

I haven't got round to doing any knitting though, maybe I'll get a few rows of sock done during the Dancing on Ice Skate off! I'm making the most of the boyfriend being out by watching programmes that he hates!

I knit weekend countdown!

2009-03-02T19:57:00.004Z

Yeah it's only like 6 months away! But I am so excited. I really enjoyed last year, I went with my Mum and met the Yarn Harlot

I thought she was a brilliant speaker and had such a great day. Obviously lots of people must have enjoyed it as this year it's spanning two days!

I am going for both days, have booked myself in for two presentations and a workshop!

It's lucky I don't really have any other hobbies, it could get expensive...

A selection of books...

2009-02-25T21:29:00.011Z

I got my prize today - not the most exciting bit (which will be seeing my pattern in print) but 3 books and a cheque - always nice :) I'm not sure that the books are ones that I would have bought myself, but they do have some nice patterns inside.

This book has some lovely patterns (despite the lack of babies or toddlers in my life) but if any of my friends start reproducing I now have some really cute presents in mind.

Not all of the socks in this book are to my taste, but I do really like the pattern for 'On the edge verticals' which are knit sideways, so you end up with vertical stripes when knitting with a variegated yarn. Could be interesting!

Finally the book of hot water bottle covers, could actually be useful as I have a naked (gasp!) hot water bottle in my cupboard. I really like the idea of the entrelac cover, it looks so snuggly (plus I keep meaning to try some entrelac).

In other news I have been making some stitch markers to sell on etsy, I have made several sets - I just need to take some photos then I can set up the shop. Very exciting, I've got a sneaky peek for you:
And finally I have started knitting a new pair of socks, I have chosen to ignore my normal hatred for combinations of lace and variegated yarns - I take it all back! I like the way these socks are turning out so far. This is where I would post a lovely picture of my new sock, but my computer is not playing ball and won't let me add any more pictures! It's my picture on twitter and I will go add it to Ravelry. The pattern is Hedera by Cookie A.

I can't believe it...

2009-02-17T19:36:00.004Z

I literally cannot believe it, my knitting pattern for the cafetiere cosy actually won the Knitting magazine competition! I am so proud!

My pattern is going to be printed in May - I don't think I can wait!

Yippee!

Just another manic Sunday...

2009-02-15T20:06:00.006Z

Well I really enjoyed my weekend (I'm not being sarcastic here - for once). I sorted out loads of knitting stuff in my house. I got all my books together from around the flat (except for the ones that I am actually using right now) and put them all together on a shelf - this was a little bit of a shock.I am ashamed to say that this is not all of my knitting books (the rest are still in Newcastle - sorry Mum) along with the majority of my stash.

I put the majority of my knitting 'stuff' into a box so that I can actually find it and so we can move around the flat. I have kept my ball winder out - I think it acts as decoration. Plus I have some lovely skeins of sock wool to wind.

Plus once I have been brave and taken it off the spindle so I can set the twist - I have my first handspun.......

I am actually pretty proud of it - no way is it something I would buy though. The orange runs through it all but then different colours twist in. I think I need some more practice with my drafting (it's pretty chunky) and I don't think I could do it in public - a little too much swearing. But I did enjoy it really!

In a fit of productivity I have finished the knitting for my jumper, seamed the shoulders (not great) picked up stitches (not great) and knitted the ribbing and buttonholes. This is how it looks right now...

So just the sleeves to set in and the body to seam and the button to sew on. Then done!
I'm aiming to get it done by knitting group on Wednesday, mind you I was also planning to get it done for Christmas.....Wish me luck

Why did I not see this coming?

2009-02-08T18:36:00.003Z

Well I have done exactly NO knitting this weekend.

Why is this you may ask, well that is because I am annoyed with myself for not being capable of reading a pattern correctly.

I have messed up the front of my credit crunch cardigan by just not reading the instructions - what an idiot! It's not like I just ignored these instructions once -No. I have already reknit the lace part of this front about six times, well I had better get frogging again!

In other news we have finished watching series 1 of the West Wing! I am really enjoying it, only 6 more to go.

(I have also been making some sets of stitch markers, but more about those in the future...)

Brought to you by the letter S

2009-02-02T20:57:00.008Z

Snow

Sushi

Stitch markers
and a Shocking pink cardigan

That pretty much sums up the past few days for me!

A 'Credit Crunch' Cardigan

2009-01-26T19:06:00.006Z

I have finally got around to blocking the shawl that I got free with my Rowan membership last year. I do really like the stitch pattern, but the shawl has turned out a little bit too wide and a bit too short.

It has stretched a bit with blocking, but it's still not great (that may be due to my blocking). I will definitely use the stitch pattern again in the future, it was really easy to memorise and I think it looks really good once blocked - maybe for a cushion cover or something..... It would look really nice with a contrasting colour fabric underneath.

( I think my boyfriend may say the main problem with it is that it's taking a while to block, so our corridor is now kind of out of order - oops!).

I was planning to use my few days that I took off work to finish my Granite jumper - I haven't.
I just need to finish knitting the fronts and then sew it up (I really am dreading that!).

However, I did start a new cardigan (The 'Credit Crunch' cardigan, only because I like the alliteration/it was cheap/I started it the day we actually entered into a recession). I was tempted by some really cheap acrylic ( I know, its not my preferred choice, but this cardigan only has one size so I have no clue if it will fit me, or even suit me if it does fit) so I can't really justify buying 400g of some lovely yarn.

If it does look nice on me that will (of course!) justify me buying nice wool and knitting it again. It has been a really quick knit so far, I started it Friday evening and last night I had got to the lace section at the top of the back (and I am really not a fast knitter). I think it looks quite good.

The only problem is that I seem to be ok with stitch gauge, however my row gauge is MILES off. This cardigan is going to end up much longer than the one in the book, I don't think that this is a problem though as I am quite tall, as long as I do the same for the two fronts.

If my understanding is right it should only effect picking up the stitches for the button bands, I might just need to pick up a few more stitches and do some maths to work out where my button holes should go.

Please tell me if I am ignoring some massive coming problem due to my row gauge issues!

What should I knit now?

2009-01-19T21:30:00.008Z

Well I finished my deadline project - a knitted cactus for J. Yes I did forget to photograph it before gifting, but luckily it still lives in our office so it can have a photo shoot tomorrow. It was really easy and I am now in love with Jean Greenhowe patterns. I have had a few pamphlets for a while now - why do I not use them more often?

I need some inspiration!!! There are millions of things I want to knit, and to be fair I have started 3 projects in the past 2 days and frogged them all! Argh, I either don't have the right/enough yarn (I don't understand how this is possible as I have two cupboards worth!).

I am going to restart the scarf which I just frogged, it is my first attempt at illusion knitting, which I think is really interesting. Well we will see how it comes out....

This is how it looks at the moment:

Those are the wrong size needles - I completely ignored the go DOWN a needle size instruction, so the pattern was just not showing through. I have chosen 2 shades of brown, hoping that my brother will like it, hopefully it will suit the pattern. I guess this is one to wait and see what happens. I'm planning this to be the project which I take to SnB this week.

The only main thing I've got on my needles now is my Granite jumper, but I'm going to wait until the end of the week to attempt to finish it off. I've got Friday off work and the house to myself to lay it all out and try to work out what I'm doing next.

This is my picture from the other day, it is now a tiny bit further on, but still looks very similar.

Really I need a small project to take on the train with me, I guess that will be the endpaper knits, but I'm not sure how good an idea it is to try my first colour-work on the train. Any thoughts?

Some finished projects...
My Snowy Cowl - the one the caterpillar dropped out of.

My Alpaca cabled wrist warmers - if you know me and have avoided my shoving these in your face to show you the cable work then congratulations, you are one of very few!

Freaking out the muggles

2009-01-14T21:39:00.004Z

It seems to me that this week I will mostly be freaking out any non-knitter who happens to come anywhere near me! It started Monday morning when I got on the underground, started casting on a cabled headband (as you do) and the woman next to me asked for a demonstration of the long-tail cast on. The shock on the poor man's face sitting opposite us was a sight to see. He was obviously just a little bit surprised that not only was there one crazy knitting lady on his tube, but two!

Tuesday came along and my tube home was so busy that there was no way I was going to get a seat, so I started knitting standing up. Well let me tell you, people soon start moving down the carriage away from the doors if there is a knitter there. I wasn't even using sharp metal needles or anything, just my Denise interchangeable circulars (which I still adore). Hehe, may repeat that in the future.

Then today I went to my first work Stitch and Bitch meeting, which was really good, but it was a little bit weird seeing every other member of staff walk in and either do a massive double take or stand and point (which I think is a little harsh!). I will keep going though because everyone seems so nice, plus how many people are lucky enough to have a knitting group at work?

.... Well I did have a photo of my current project to post here to show how chaotic it looks, but once again my camera cable has disappeared somewhere into the abyss of knitting related items which is my flat (despite that fact that I put a little tag on it saying "camera" and put it in a so called 'safe place' - no I have no idea where that is now).

You will just have to imagine it....

2 balls of bamboo yarn connected to one piece of knitting
2 Denise Interchangeable Cables
- One used as a stitch holder
- One actually with needles on it
1 row counter

Sounds like fun doesn't it!

Argh!

Ending 2008 / Starting 2009

2009-01-10T22:49:00.007Z

Sorry, this is going to be quite a random post. It is basically summing up from Christmas until now...

So... I didn't burn Christmas Dinner:

I got loads of lovely knitting related presents (and some great non-knitting presents) -
Thank You to everyone!

I learnt to cable on Christmas day and had made some arm warmers by the 27th. I really need to block them before I take any photos, but I keep wearing them / shoving them in peoples faces to show them that I can do cables.

I finished the scarf for my Mum - and got it blocked ( I know the edges are suppose to be straight, but I had a lack of time / pins and actually really like how it turned out). Plus my Mum cried when I gave it to her, so I think she liked it too.

On New Year's Eve I went for a walk with my Dad - It was about -2 degrees (ignoring the wind), but I ended up boiling due to the number of hand knitted items I was wearing.

It was really gorgeous...

and there were lots of sheep!

And I finished my competition entry for Knitting Magazine - I am actually quite proud, it is the first time I have typed up a pattern and have really properly designed something. It is a Cafetiere Cover and here it is:

It is knitted in Rowan Tapestry, which looks brilliant, and exactly what I wanted, but I did find it a little bit splitty to knit with. Plus I'm not sure if its my tensioning, but it did seem to lose it's twist quite easily. I would still use it again though, it looks great. I lined my cosy with some brown felt and voila!

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Just a quick note...

2009-01-05T23:17:00.001Z

To say Happy New Year!

Have been really busy over the past couple of weeks and have loads of photos to post - including some finished objects! I know shocking! I have just been putting the finishing touches to my entry for the Knitting Magazine Cafetiere Cosy - I'm pretty pleased with it. Pictures to follow after the closing date :)

Any knitting resolutions?
Mine are:
- To learn crochet
- To finish my first jumper
- To use fair isle
- To try to do some spinning every week

(I'm sure I will add to this list over the next few days!)

Merry Christmas

2008-12-24T23:40:00.002Z

Or at least it will be by the time I have finished this... This is a picture of christmas at our house, our first together - I'm actually a little bit nervous, hope I don't burn dinner!

I'm going back to Newcastle on Saturday to spend time with my family, but hopefully might be able to fight my way to the computer for a couple of hours.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Christmas is coming! (When did that happen?)

2008-12-22T20:48:00.000Z

I had big plans in September - I was planning to knit something for just about anyone I had ever met. However, despite a massive list of people/things to knit I did not start.

By November I realised that I may actually need to start, but that I probably needed to take some people off the list.

By December I had started my knitting and was making good progress on my Mum's scarf, my main concern was my hat for my Dad. (We already know that is finished and handed over) but surprisingly after 2 weeks of practically no knitting I am now VERY behind with the lace scarf for my Mum. Argh! At least I am not going up to Newcastle until the 27th, but I'm not sure how happy national express will be with me trying to block a scarf on the train! Hmm I might have to think about finishing that a bit sooner.....

I have started the second sleeve of my first jumper - I know it would have made more sense to knit some of the scarf, but it's not really TV knitting. It is a really lovely pattern (Branching Out by Susan Laurence) and for some people it would be really easy, but this is my first lace project and needs a lot of attention!

Looks great though:
Best of luck for everyone else and their Christmas knitting, I'm planning to post again before Christmas, but who knows, I might actually knuckle down and tidy the house or finish my knitting :)

Found it!

2008-12-18T22:51:00.000Z

Yippee I have (finally) found the cable for my camera and will be keeping it with me at all times from now on! Anyway here are the missing photos from previous posts:

This is how my lovely needle holder looks in my bedroom - it has most of my needles in (but not all just yet!)

These are the Bakelite needles that I have put to one side to offer to the Guild. They are sooooo brittle and some are a little bit faded.

This is a picture of my completed, blocked hat for my Dad for Christmas. I'm really pleased with it - I have actually already given it to him - I think he liked it!

This is the tiny sock keyring which I knitted one day last week. I really enjoyed making it - and I think it looks really cute. I bought the mini sock blocker online ages ago and the pattern came with it. I can't remember what the yarn is called, it came from a kit to make a floppy beret which i finished last month. I only had a tiny bit left over so made this and an iPod cover (still to finish!)

And finally, this is the little Polar Bear Christmas tree decoration which I knitted as a Christmas present. I really like it, and the pattern was really simple (Simply Knitting Advent Tree).

Knitting Needles Everywhere!

2008-12-10T20:29:00.001Z

I'm not feeling very festive (for various reasons), but I am really happy with my Christmas present from my Mum - my new needle holder! I absolutely fell in love with it when I spotted it on EBay. I would really like to find out ore about Robinoid (which is the brand on the front). I am gutted that the price information on the back is torn so I can't work out the date of it, some exciting knitting research for the future I think!

Oh yeah the best bit/big problem is that it came with 250+ pairs of needles! Mostly pretty small sizes all still in their original packaging, (in fact my poor boyfriend described our house as looking like a 'crack den' as the floor was littered with needles for couple of days while I was sorting through the sizes).

To dispose of this mass of needles I have:

Filled out my own needle collection (at least 2 pairs of each size)
Given some to the 3 other knitters in my office
Stored some in the office (for knitting emergencies)
Put some aside to give to my Mum
Put some aside to give to my Boyfriends Mum
Given some to one of the researchers at work
Taken out all the Bakelite needles to offer to the Knitting and Crochet Guild Collection

And I still have loads in my drawer at work! Is anyone interested? I think they range from 2mm-about 3 3/4mm and one Tunisian crochet hook (5.5mm).

Just let me know (I fear they are no longer welcome in my flat.......)

P.S I did have a lovely photograph of my needleholder in all its glory (i.e full of my stuff) but my camera lead has gone walkabout so I guess that will just have to wait for another day. Sorry)

I love it!

2008-12-04T22:21:00.000Z

I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it

Have I mentioned that I love it?

Seize the day, put no trust in tomorrow. (Quote by Horace)

2008-12-03T13:41:00.000Z

I think the knitting fates have just had a hand in persuading me to design something.
Ever since I went to an amazing fair isle class at I Knit London, I have been desperate to do some stranded colour work.

I had decided that as soon as I had finished my Christmas knitting (still no further with that - it does actually help if you pick it up once in a while though!) that I would cast on some fingerless gloves. I currently have a pair which I knitted as one of my first ever projects a few years ago now, they are pale grey (a perfect dirt magnet) don't fit brilliantly and annoy me because I can see all the beginners mistakes I made - there is one row where all the stitches are twisted and some of the ribbing is a bit well wrong.

So I thought about designing my own pattern, made a few sketches. Started a tension square (possibly a first for me) and then discovered the Endpaper mitts.

I had seen the pattern before, but never really appreciated just how nice those fingerless gloves were. They moved straight to the top of my Ravelry queue (behind other Christmas things) and I thought that was that, I'll cast them on as soon as possible.

But while ogling at the Ravelry page today, I read some of the comments saying that people are unable to access Eunny's blog - I thought little of it, I only read it last month. But it's true I am completely unable to access it either! Argh that blog was amazing - I had planned to refer back to the steeking examples in years to come. So farewell Endpaper mitts - I guess I'd better go get my colouring pencils and squared paper!

(Hopefully though Eunny's blog will return and normality will be restored)

Update - I can now access the page again - panic over, still might design something of my own though......

"Do not wait; the time will never be "just right.".......

2008-12-01T20:11:00.000Z

...........Start where you stand, and work with whatever tools you may have at your command, and better tools will be found as you go along." Quote from Napoleon Hill.

I'm not really sure why I have decided to start a blog right now - especially while I am in the midst of a "knitting crisis", but I suppose it's because most of my knitting is either languishing in the freezer/waiting to be rewound/boxed up in the shed trying to avoid this apparent moth infestation. The moths obviously knew that it is Christmas knitting time - hit her where it hurts!

I say apparent infestation, because although I have seen some indication that moths have moved in with us...

1. The caterpillar that dropped out of the cowl when I started knitting it last week. (My poor boyfriend had no idea what was going on, he was calmly making dinner when I ran in basically emptied our tiny ice-box freezer of food and stuffed in any yarn that had not been in a plastic box.) This tiny creature was enough to panic me on its own, no other evidence required.

2. But then during my mass anti-moth cleaning this weekend (- including hoovering under/behind furniture!) I discovered that we have some very suspicious bare patches of carpet with a few cocoons scattered around them. Hmmm... I was not happy!

Yet I still have not seen an actual moth - and trust me I have been looking! A rogue fly entered the house yesterday and even my boyfriend was concerned that this maybe one of the moths which had turned his one relatively normal girlfriend into some moth obsessed maniac!

I am trying to persuade myself that the caterpillar was some freak accident, you know like fish or frogs falling from the sky before tornadoes. However this really does not seem like a plausible explanation - does it?