That's all folks....

I'm moving to TypePad.

Click on the arrows >>>><<<<<< to get to my new home.

Blogger's been great but trying to change the template takes too long.
So it's time to spread my wings (and put my hand in my pocket) and leave my first home.

I'll keep this site open until I've worked out how to move my entries over to TypePad.

But in the meantime, don't forget to change your bookmarks etc. to
http://purlyqueen.typepad.com/sisterknitter/
And I'll see you all there soon!

Ronke

HTML help wanted

How can I move my sidebar contents so that they always appear at the top, rather than being squashed at the bottom?
I've spent all morning trying to sort this out, but to no avail.
Thanks!!!

My sale haul

Compared to previous seasons, the mighty Liberty sale was rather disappointing - but that's probably because I'm not a huge fan of cotton yarns and Liberty had plenty of those. I had such high expectations as well as a long shopping list - but all was not lost. I did pick up lots of khaki Rowan Cotton Tape, which I love because it knits up quickly and doesn't catch on the needles. And I bought some pattern books so I can reduce my shameful yarn stash.

My biggest triumph was this....



This is no humble clipboard.
In fact, it has transformed my knitting experience. I cannot recommend that you get one highly enough.
It's a metal board with a magnetic ruler. It makes working with charts a lot easier because you can mark off your row and the ruler (obviously) doesn't budge.

Fellow Central London Morning Knitter Pauline lent me hers, which was a present from her Secret Pal. I made it my mission to track one down for myself - I even toyed with telling Pauline that the gremlins under the stairs had stolen it.

But I found one in a lonely corner at Liberty's embroidery department and it's made even Koigu's convoluted patterns much easier to understand.

Look - see how much progress I've made with my Gypsy shawl....


Both the John Lewis and Peter Jones clearance sales had much the same cotton stuff as Liberty.

I had high hopes for Peter Jones. This was where I snaffled a pack of (still unused) half-price Noro Kureyon in the summer.

But never a girl to leave a sale empty-handed, I bought a cushion pad and a remnant of black corduroy for the back of this cushion.

I'm going to work on this on New Year's Day. Simple sewing will be all that my hungover head will be able to cope with.

What the hell is that?

This is the mother of all UFOs.

It was meant to be a quilt for a friend's baby (her son is now 13 years old). I got bored with knitting black and white squares and I didn't have the patience to knit an entire garment, so I hit on the bright idea of making a sampler to practice knitting patterns.

This project kept me entertained for years (off and on). Eventually I lost interest in knitting and dumped this 'creation', my needles and yarn in the loft.

A few months ago, I remembered that I had knitting supplies stashed away in a bag in the loft. Yes, it's as ugly as sin, but I can't bring myself to throw it away. Because it's 100 per cent acrylic, the moths haven't been able to destroy it. I might fold it up and use it as stuffing for a cushion. That way it will be kept safe out of harm's way.

Getting closer

This cushion is turning out to be a labour of love. I ordered a mixed bag of mohair yarn from eBay to create the 'furry' lines.

I usually keep an open mind when buying yarn from eBay. You don't always receive the exact shade that you hoped for because everyone's computer monitors display shades differently. So unless you've seen the yarn in the flesh, it's hard to know what the postman is going to bring you.

Anyway, as luck would have it, this consigment of yarn was a perfect match for my cushion.

I used an ordinary hairbrush to gently brush the mohair lines, and it really does look like fur. I must admit that was sceptical at first but as I had embroidered half the lines, it was too late to change my mind.

My name is Mrs Smug

I've just spent a few minutes flicking through knitting blogs. The main theme is 'My Xmas Knitting Hell'. Everyone seems to be knitting furiously, desperately trying to complete their Christmas presents before the 25th.

Can I be a real smug so-and-so? I am leisurely knitting a shawl for Mother's Day. All my Xmas presents have been knitted, sewn up and blocked, oh –  days ago.

This has been at the expense of seeing my friends, housework and having a meaningful conversation with my husband, but what the hell - at least it's all done!

Note to self: I will not buy any yarn until the January sales

What is it about being a yarn addict? I am happily knitting the Gypsy shawl with a pile of luscious Koigu, I have more yarn than I know what to do with but I am still thinking about popping into Peter Jones on the way to work to see what yarns they have.

I'm playing nursemaid this morning to Rob, who is ill in bed with a bad cold. This also means that I can have a guilt-free few hours knitting. The gym can wait and I placed a big order with Amazon for some Christmas presents yesterday.



My '52 bus project' is an iPod cover. I'm using the Colinette Point Five with a size 4 crochet hook, which is producing an 'interesting' result. The yarn is very loosely spun so the crochet hook keeps poking through the yarn rather than the stitch.

One cushion front coming up...

I'm so pleased with how my first fair isle effort has turned out. I've won some odd balls of mohair on eBay which I will use to embroider over the black lines for a furry effect. I'm waiting for the sales to start before I buy some backing fabric.

And for the techies...

Do I get top marks for neatness? :)

What did I learn?
I knew knitting backwards would come in really handy one day. The two balls of yarn didn't get too tangled up while I knitted. Purling with fair isle feels like working in the dark. I like the instant gratification of seeing the pattern unfolding on the knit side.

Use a bobbin for the secondary colour(s). It's much easier to disentangle a small amount of yarn rather than a massive ball.

Post-It Notes are invaluable when reading charts. They can be used to mark off the line that you're working on and - of course - they stay put, so you don't have to worry about missing your place when you have to do something else - like go to bed!

What's wrong with this swatch?

This was going to be a winter version of Rockstar but I'm not happy with the colours. I'm torn between a white and pink or all-white scarf. Perhaps the best solution is to concentrate on the Gypsy shawl and come back to this conundrum later.

Nighty night!

Gypsy is the winner

>

So far I'm having a much easier time with the Gypsy shawl than I did with Charlotte. This pattern is a much gentler introduction to knitting shawls using charts. The first section has a simple lace section at the beginning and end of each row. From what I can see of the later rows, the lace pattern looks fairly painless. Feel free to remind me what I've just posted when I come on here in a few weeks to vent my spleen at my inability to decipher a pattern!



I can't tell you how much I'm enjoying knitting with Koigu. I'm a real sucker for variegated yarns, but this is the business. It's so soft and springy and there doesn't seem to be any obvious colour repeats so far.

This particular shade reminds me of an autumnal fruit salad - full of juicy berries, satsumas and the odd almond.

Ball of confusion

I still don't know whether to knit the Gypsy shawl or a pink/white version of Rockstar.

I've run out of things to knit

I've been concentrating so much on finishing my Christmas knitting that I feel as if I've run out of steam. I'm sure this state of affairs won't last long!

Besides, I've been eyeing up the Koigu Gypsy shawl pattern that I'd like to give to my mum next year. What the hell - I might get started on it tonight. I also want to have something to take to the knitting morning that we have on Tuesdays at Ray's Jazz coffee shop. Or perhaps I could start on a pair of fingerless mittens for myself? Or what about the Knitty tea cosy? So many yarns, so little time!

I've finished knitting the cushion. I was so determined to complete it last night that I stayed up until 2am to get the last rows done. The next step is to trace over the black lines with mohair to create a smoky effect. I've just won an auction on eBay for some odd balls of mohair that will be ideal.

My 'conscience jobs' are to lengthen Rob's jumper and my MIL's scarf with fringing. 'Conscience jobs' are the projects that need alterations but I keep getting waylaid by the other yarns in my stash.

I have crossed over to the Dark Side

That's right - I have re-discovered crochet. [cue horrified gasps]

For my sins, I am making another Christmas present - this time another carrier bag. I'm not going to line it because I want it to be stretchy, although the crochet means the resulting fabric will be tighter than if I had knitted it.

The pattern is based on Rowan's Karee bag from the It's a Tape Thing collection.

And here's one I made earlier...>>>click here<<<


This bag is my public transport project because it's so portable and crochet doesn't take up as much space as knitting does - very important when you consider how crowded London buses can be.

I'm using a a size 7 (US: size K) crochet hook, which is nice and fat. And I've managed to crochet this much...


... in about an hour.

Please don't ask me which stitches I've used, because I have no idea!

I haven't neglected my first love. This is what I've done so far on the Blur cushion.



I'm past the half-way mark. I am so pleased with my first attempt at fair isle.
Althoughnext time I use Mexican Wave, I will remember to work from two balls to make the stripes more random.

I'll post my thoughts on this project in more detail in my next post.

Good night!

Drop everything!!

The new Knitty is online!

The things I do to get out of decorating...

I've got door frames that need to be sanded before I go out this afternoon and here I am posting on my blog. Oh well, I can't think of a nicer way to procrastinate.

This is what I've done so far on Blur.


The main yarn is an acrylic called Mexican Wave by Elle (shade 58). I bought a few balls from the Knitting and Stitching Show at Alexandra Palace in October. The stockist was RKM Wools from Shrewsbury, Shropshire. I love that azure blue and look at how the accent thread goes through the colours that you can see in a sunset (if you're lucky).

I found the black yarn in my local pound shop. It's a bog standard double-knit acrylic which cost a fiver for four 100g balls - perhaps I was overcharged!



And here's a view of the back for the techies ;-)

I was working on this while watching the Musicality performance of Chicago on Channel 4 last night. This series is basically 'Theatre Idol'.

It follows the same format as Pop Idol with the auditions, workshops and panel of judges. The main difference is that the judges always offer constructive advice and support, rather than throwing insults at the auditionees. The winners took the main parts in Chicago in London for one night.

All the winners were so impressive but Rebecca Dent, who played Roxie Hart, was astounding. She dominated the stage and I couldn't take my eyes off her.

These fingerless gloves are going to be another Christmas present.

The pattern is called Fawne, and it's from the ... you guessed it ... the current Rowan mag. They're made from the same black yarn as the Blur cushion and silver Rowan Lurex Shimmer.

Ahem...

I've fixed the link to my eBay auctions below. Sorry for posting the wrong link - let's just chalk it up to experience, eh?

I am feeling quite proud of myself today because I've conquered my fear of Fair Isle knitting. I could never work out how other knitters made the reverse side of their work look so neat - mine always resembled a car crash.

I think the secret to learning a technique is to find a pattern that you love and just dive in. I'm making the Blur cushion by Jeanette Trotman in the current Rowan mag (issue 36 - Autumn/Winter).



In fact, I'm so enamoured by my new-found skill that I've broken my 'one project at a time' rule. I fully intend to finish the black and silver fingerless gloves that I started on Saturday. Then I can return to fair isle heaven with a clear conscience.