More Linen May 25, 2010

Fortunately for my bank balance, not fabric this time.  I went to visit my sister for her birthday on Saturday at Sherwood  and dropped in to Threads and More.  I really could not find one skein or ball of yarn that I liked until I found some of Linen / Cotton / Silk blend.  It is in a sport weight and quite stringy but I can’t wait to crochet some little flowers which I will then sew on to my linen.  I have ordered a couple of Nicky Epstein books from the library to get some inspiration for flowers and edges which I think would also look nice on my linens.

So when will this all end?

Being called December 4, 2008

A very clever lady that I met through Ravelry (the creative controller) reminded me that following a calling to a project keeps you creative.  I’ve been thinking about that today and it has really struck a chord.  I think it is great to have the projects queued, the yarn ready and the patterns printed but part of the rich tapestry of life is following an idea down one of Alice’s rabbit holes and enjoying where you end up, not beating your self up because you haven’t finished something else.  I am enjoying a really rich tapestry today as I have cast on another bag to be felted from all that lovely Sean Sheep Classic I bought from Kate.  It is lovely because, double stranded, it is knitting up remarkably fast and is surprisingly soft.  It is also lovely because I bought 17 balls of it for $8 and I love a bargain.  I am hoping for at least two bags from it and maybe even three.  I am sort of following the Booga Bag idea but making it quite a bit bigger as I have plenty of yarn to play with.  I am forcing myself to use all the colours but only use each colour once.  There are 13 colours.

Photos when it is ready for felting and of course, after.

It is great to feel that I can go off down this rabbit hole and yet, still come back to the projects that I am looking forward to doing.  Some for me, some just because they should be done and some just because.

I have also decided that I am not going to buy any more yarn until……after I return to work in Mid January.  That is over 6 weeks and a good time to just put my head down and enjoy the yarn that I have.

Keep going… keep going… November 21, 2008

I finished the bag for Laura and felted it quickly so that I could use the experience to inform the next one.  I think it is about perfect in size (110 stitches on 7mm needles) so have just cast on the other one for Lenore.  Lenore seems to think that the colour might be wrong for Laura so I might need to rethink it.  Fortunately, I like it enough to keep if for myself (and was thinking of making one for me anyway).  What other colour I could use is a bit beyond me but I might get back into Spotlight and see what I can find.  It seems the cheaper the better as far as felting wool is concerned.  Or perhaps I could use some of the plain purple that I have although that would make it a bit dull.  More thinking… I think.

More Christmas Presents November 18, 2008

Powering on with the Christmas presents and finalised another two yesterday – two more felted bags will be made, one for my mother and the other for my eldest niece.  Both were enabled by a sale of Vintage Hues at Spotlight in bags of 10 balls.  So I was able to grab some cheap yarn for the presents which will give me some left over for later.  Fantastic… except that I had promised myself that I wouldn’t buy any more yarn until after Christmas but as these were for presents, it doesn’t really count does it?  I don’t think so.  I am really keen to just get through these projects, finishing the Christmas gifts, my Kureyon Eva and my Cashmere Crocus Bud so that I can participate in the QAL KAL on Ravelry and make one of these lovely round yoke cardi’s in January. But of course by then I will know the sex of Melissa’s baby and there is that BSJ that needs doing for Gryff and I really really want to do the Clapotis…. More planning, more prioritising and much, much more knitting.

Milobo’s round yoke cardi November 10, 2008

This is such a lovely pattern (link). 

Milobo's fabulous cardi

 I think that I have decided that I will do this in the Raspberry 5 ply bendi – I think it will be nice not being too chunky and I really would love to use some of it. It is really helping to get some of this down to help me think it through

ordering some bendi yarn November 9, 2008

I spoke to my beautiful sister today about making her life easier – me buying my own christmas present before the bendi yarn sale finished.  So tomorrow I am ordering some lovely Bendi yarn so that she can give it to me.  The real problem is that when you look at the shade card, you could order almost anything and be happy with it.  I am looking at the Alpaca and the Rustic and I just love the tweedy tones, the deep richness of the red and green tweed, the depth of the ocean colours and the lovely mild, subtleness of merlin and peppercorn.  I am going to order the lighter, more subtle colours to start with but I really am hooked! With the milobo top down cardi and round yoke cardi beckoning, it is great to have such lovely yarns available.  I might just be able to squeeze in a few more balls (just to make the most of the postage of course!). Perhaps I should ring my other sister!!!