God Jul

which means Happy Christmas. I've been a lazy blogger lately. The last couple of weeks have just been so busy, getting the sock and lace clubs out and getting ready for our holiday in Norway. We left late Sunday evening and drove up to Stansted overnight and arrived at my parents house in Norway by midday on Monday totally exhausted. Emily got ill on Saturday night and has been running a high temperature and had a nasty cold since then. She was the narrator in our church's Sunday School Play on Sunday morning and after some Calpol and prayers she managed brilliantly and noone would have known she was ill at all. She didn't have to stand on stage. She stood just off stage with a microphone and could sit down between her lines which made it easier. It was quite a long play too and she flopped straigh afterwards. after church a friend and her two daughters came for lunch and Emily went to bed straight after lunch which is unheard of for her so she was obviously feeling quite ill.

Not ideal to travel with a sick child but Emily did brialliantly and managed to keep going with the help of Calpol every 4 hours. Neither of the girls slept much in the car on the way to London. I slept all hte way from Plymouth to Reading then drove the last hour. Teh drive up was quick and easy and we arrived far too early. No traffic on the roads at all. The flight was on time and not too bad for Ryan Air. It's not the world's most pleasant airline but it was cheap.

We haven't done much since we arrived here. We were all pretty exhausted so had a quiet day yesterday to recover. Emily is much better but still ill. Today is the big day inNoway and when we celebrate. Teh girls had their stockings first thing this morning. And later this afternoon we're going to church (just me and Simon) and then having our Christmas meal which is roast reindeer when we get home and then presents in the evening.

We had hoped for a White Christmas but there is no snow, which we're all pretty disappointed about. It's quite cold and frosty though. Simon, Ness and I went out for a walk in the woods earlier and it was quite pleasant.

Knittingwise, I was supposed to work ona new design for Yarn Forward while we were away but the yarn didn't arrive in time which means it'll have to wait till we get home. Then it'll be a mad rush to get it done as quickly as possible. So on Sunday I quickly had to decidewhich other knitting to take. Our luggage allowance was pretty small so I had to be careful how much knitting I took. I ended up taking 4 pairs of socks, one sock in each pair is already done so I'm aiming to finish sock no 2. Also took a skein of the Sockamania PLUS yarn for January and started a pair of plain toe up socks on the plain. Have just started the gusset increases. Also took a skein of Exotic lace to start a lace stole for my sister. I promised her one two years ago so thought it was about time I got going on it. It's a new design which I charted out a few months ago. STarted knitting it last night then frogged it this morning as I was unhappy with one of teh stitch patterns I'd used. CAst on again and nearly got back to where I frogged now. I'm also working on an article while I'm here which involves visiting as many yarn shops as I can. Tough life!!!!

I'll try to do a big of blogging while I'm here. And see if I can include some local pics too. Fingers crossed we'll get some snow soon. Its always much prettier in the snow.

I'd like to wish you all a wonderful Christmas! or God Jul!

More Dazzle

Thank you for all the comments and e-mails I had last night re my first Knitty design, Maja.

Today I'm going to show you another new design. I've got a few lined up actually but we'll concentrate on Dazzle today. First, it's a huge shawl and knitted in my Silky Merino Lace which has a generous 1200m per 100gr skein. There will be more Silky Merino listed over the weekend.
Dazzle has now been listed in the shop and you can buy it on Ravelry too if I can get it to upload the pdf. It's not working at the moment so will try again later.

I must admit I struggled to block this shawl, it was quite big before blocking but I had never guessed how much it would grow. I block all my lace on the lounge floor using my blocking boards and I kept having to move stuff out of the way to accommodate this shawl.
The painting in this picture is by my Mum. She did two beautiful paintings for me a few years ago and I think they're quite good.

All morning I've been feeling really tired and had a severe headache. I've been trying to get the Lace Variety Club parcels packed up but just before lunch I gave up. I turned the central heating on (it was cold), wrapped myself in Dazzle and reclined my chair and fell asleep. After about half an hour I woke up feeling like new woman. The headache is gone and I'm feeling awake. It's good as I'm taking the girls late night shopping in Plymouth after school. It's not so good as it means the Lace Variety club parcels won't make it to the post office today but I decided my health came first today. I can't let the girls down this afternoon and there is no way I could drive to Plymouth the way I felt. So parcels will be posted tomorrow.

I'm off for another shopping trip tomorrow. I'm going to Truro with a friend. Truro is a lovely city with quite a nice yarnshop and a bead shop. I'm not bying any yarn though although I may get some beads. I fancy knitting Dazzle with some beads thrown in. Maybe a project for the new year.

I've been asked for a rectangular version of Maja and I'm working on it. I need someone to actually knit it up for me though.

This is my current Manos Silk Blend project, it's a Moebius ring. I'm not 100% happy with it so will be getting another version on the needles next week but here's a close up of the stitch pattern got to finish some secret socks first and the Sockamania January pattern. And the yarn for another Yarn Forward project should be on it's way to me soon which will keep me busy over christmas. I'm very excited about that design and can't wait to get to work on it. the yarn I've chose is rather gorgeous too.

And to finish off, some handspun. First a bamboo/merino blend which will become a hat for Emily, hopefully before we go to Norway although I've got a feeling I'll be knitting this on the plane. I'm very happy with this yarn. I think I got the twist just about right this time.

And some BFL Humbug I finished spinning ages ago but never got around to giving the yarn it's bath.

Winter Knitty

Yeah, Winter Knitty is finally up and thank you so much to all of those who've stopped by already and congratulated me. Maja can be found here. I did announce a competition a few days ago, the first one who spotted my pattern in Knitty and left a comment would get a price and the winner is Barb W. I'll e-mail you tomorrow Barb. And thank you to Pixie for texting me to say Knitty was up. We had housegroup (bible study) here tonight so didn't check my text until everyone had left. Glad I didn't as I would have been itching to get online if I'd read it earlier.

I'm so thrilled to be published in Knitty. I submitted this pattern back in June for the Fall issue but Amy asked if she could hold on to it and consider it for the Winter issue.
Want to see some more pics? Vanessa was modelling for me one day last summer at Sibleyback Lake up on Bodmin Moor near where we live. Here's her 'Titanic pose'.
I showed it off to the ladies at the Spin A Yarn knitting group back in the summer before I submitted it and they all loved it and it's been so hard to keep it a secret all these months. I've been wearing it quite a lot myself though. I wore it today as it's been rather chilly here lately and it's a gorgeous soft and warm yarn. I'm totally in love with Manos Silk Blend which is the yarn I used for the shawl. It's so soft and gorgeous to knit with. It's a dk yarn but I would say it's almost aran/worsted thickness. The pattern takes two 100gr skeins of Manos Silk Blend but I've just had an e-mail from Hilary to say that the skein sizes sold in North America are half the size of the ones here in Europe so if the skein size is 50gr you'll need 4 skeins. Or to make it easier - 200gr in total. Thank you for letting me know Hilary.

I also did a version in HipKnits Aran Silk which is rather yummy too.I had planned to show off a new design today but I'll save that for tomorrow or perhaps I'll give you a sneak preview. It's knitted in my Silky Merino Lace and Pixie knitted the shawl for me as I didn't have time. Hopefully I'll get the pattern online in the next few days. And it's called Dazzle.
Want to see more? Okay, here's one shot. More photos of Dazzle tomorrow. Lace club parcels will be going out tomorrow too. and if you want to sign up for the Sockamania PLUS Merino Sock Club be quick as I start dyeing on Saturday and parcels will be sent out early next week. Here's December's yarn. I've decided on the colourway for January (the parcel which is due to be sent out next week) already. I kind of discovered it by accident when I was dyieng yarn on Monday and loved it.

Lace

Time to show off the Lace Variety Club yarn for November. It's a scrumptious Silky Lace which is incredibly soft, in gorgeous green shades. I'm hoping all the US parcels have arrived by now. This picture is courtesy of Pixie as I forgot to take pics before I wrapped them all up.
Today I've been dyeing the yarn for the December club and it's looking yummy and I love the yarn. If you want to sign up then you've got till Wednesday so be quick. The new shawl for the club has been blocked but the weather was far too dull today to take pics. It looks gorgeous though and is huge.

Still no Knitty. Keep checking the site.

Have managed to do a tiny bit of knitting today. Working on a pair of mitts for a friend. I knitted her some before but she lost them and I have enoug yarn for another pair so I thought I'd be nice and knit her another pair. She was wearing the first pair all the time. This time I've added beads and it's looking gorgeous. No pics though as the pattern is a secret for now.

Also working on some secret socks which aren't going too good. Knitted all the way to the heel flap then realised they were going to be tiny so had to have a re-think. cast on again in Bambino sock yarn which is yummy to knit with.

Did a few rounds on the moebius cowl while at a friend's for lunch earlier.

I've dyed some new sock yarn today, it's alpaca/merino blend and it's so soft and gorgeous. Dyed some yummy colours including a couple of skeins using a new technique. Will be interesting to see how that turns out.

Finished

I've finally got a finished project to show you. It's Simon's hat. He's got very, very short hair and on cold days likes wearing a hat and especially when we go to Norway will need a hat to wear. I'm not all that good at knitting hat. If I found a pattern and followed it I'd probably be okay but I don't tend to follow patterns which is why I design my own. LOL. Teh last hat I knitted him wasn't quite right so I was determined to get this one right. He's got a big head too which makes buying hats difficult. This one has met with his approval, just. It looks quite big on my model head. I'll see if i can get Simon to model it at some point.
Also finished some spinning last night. This merino/bamboo has been on the wheel for a couple of months now but due to all my deadline knitting lately I've not found any time to spin. I've got 100gr of this and it's probably dk weight although I've not measured wpi yet. It's currently soaking with some BFL Humbug I spun ages ago but never got around to finishing off. I've promised Emily a hat for Norway with the blue/white fibre.

This shawl which is the one Pixie knitted for me is waiting to be blocked. Unfortunately the back pain I've suffered recently has put me off crawling around on the floor blocking lace. But I need to get this done and photographed so tonight is blocking night no matter what. It's quite big even befor blocking so it'll be interesting to see how much bigger it gets. The yarn has silk in it which tends to block out quite big.

This yarn arrived from Yarny Goodness the other day. If you've not visited this shop yet, pop over now. Pam has some wonderful knitting and yarn goodies for sale and you get a complementary Yarny Goodness stitch marker too. I have two of them now and they're fab. The plum yarn is 100% bamboo which I've fallen in love with. I may try to cast on for something over christmas with it. Not sure what yet. The green yarn is merino I think and a dk weight. Not quite sure what i had in mind when I bought it. So not quite sure what to do with it yet.

Keep an eye out for Winter Knitty which is due to be published any day now. The first one to spot my pattern on Knitty and posts a comment on my blog saying what the pattern is called and that they've seen it on Knitty will get a prize. My comments are moderated so your comment won't show immediately.

This afternoon Emily's class is singing in the Christingle Service at our local Parish Church. This is the church we used to go to and I always love going back there but the pews are incredibly uncomfortable and I'm not sure how well I will cope with it this afternoon. Got to find a cushion to take with me I think. Iwas lucky in church this morning as we have a couple of comfy lounge chairs for 2 people with severe health problems. Neither of them were there this morning so I used one of the chairs which means a lot less pain at the end of the service. Our normal chairs in church are not bad either but they still increase the pain levels quite a lot.

The countdown has started now for going to Norway. Two weeks left which means two weeks to finish Christmas shopping, make sure the kids have got enough clothes for the holiday including warm clothes to wear in the snow and party clothes for dressing up. Also got to dye and send out Lace Variety Club and Sockamania PLUS club yarn. Oh and a bit of knitting to do too.

I've started a Moebius neck warmer using a method I've never used before, but I'll tell you more aobut that tomorrow...

Yuk, what's that?

Yes it's eyelash novelty yarn. A yarn I loved about 4 years ago and now hate. but my neighbour loves it and every year she asks me to knit her a few scarves. She asked me in October and I've finally finished one and got the other one on the needles. I'm just doing garter stitch on big needles so it's fairly quick. the first one I knitted the majority of it on Halloween when we went to the cinema tosee High School Musical. I think I need another cinema trip to get the other one done. One scarf is short with a hole in it to pull the end through. The 2nd scarf will be longer.

Finished a hat for Simon too but not got photos done yet so will show that on the next post. It's only a plain rib hat knitted in angora/merino. It's gorgeous and ever so soft. And it just about met with his approval. He's very fussy when it comes to hats and my last one knitted in possum/merino was too short and small for him and didn't have enough grip.

Here's my daughters' advent calender. I just had to show it off and yes it's missing quite a few presents. Need to get some more over the next fewdays to fill up the rest of the calender. The girls open it every other day and get little presents I've bought. I find it a lot of hassle to be honest but the girls love it. Just as much as Iloved it as a child/teenager. This advent calendar was made by my grandmother who was brilliant at embroidery and me and my sister had it when we were kids. Since I was the first one of us to have kids I got the calendar for my kids. My sister now has two little boys but my girls aren't ready to give up on the calendar yet so my Mum has had to make a new one for my nephews.

I listed some more yarns yesterday and there will be more to come today, hopefully. I'm really suffering from severe back pain today. My massage therapist thinks I've got a trapped nerve in my lower back on teh left side and it's agony. It's even painful to walk. So I'm having a quiet a bad day and have been quite tearful this morning. Trying to treat it with knitting and chocolate.

Here's a snapshot of the yarns listed and some to come:

Aran Merino:

Luscious Lace:

Silky Lace:

Silky Alpaca:
I've reduced some yarn prices due to the dollar exchange rate so all yarns who were $20 are now $18. If you want to sign up for the clubs the deadlines are earlier this month as I need to dye the yarns early to get it all done in plenty of time before we go to Norway. So be quick. Here's the shop.

got a couple of new patterns due out next week if everything goes to plan and a sneak preview of the new lace shawl Pixie knitted up for me, which arrived this morning. Thank you so much Pixie. YOu're briliant as always. The shawl will be the pattern for Decembers Lace Variety Club.

Time flies

The days just seem to be going so quickly these days. Every day for a few days now I've been thinking about blogging but not had time during the day and then in the evening I'm either too tired, in too much pain or someone else is hogging the computer so today I was determined to blog and to show off some current wips. But I've left it too late to take photos now as it's getting darker. I tried taking some photos of some yarn earlier to do a shop update but they all came out areally funny colour. The surface I take photos on is white and it came out looking pale blue. I've managed to edit some photos but Paintshop is running really slow and it's al ltaking too much time so I've abandoned it for today. Will try to re-do photos again tomorrow. I'd hoped to get it all done today as I've brought all the yarns downstairs for photos and Simon hates it when I leave them down here. Never mind, he'll have to put up with it for one more day.

At the moment I'm really excited and stalking the Knitty website every day. Winter Knitty will be out any day now and I've got a design in it. To celebrate my first Knitty design, the first one to spot my design on Knitty and to post a comment on my blog will win a price. I moderate all the comments so it won't appear straight away but I can see when Iget a list of comments to moderate who's posted first so go for it. I'm not telling you what the design is or what it's called so a bit of detective work is needed.

Because the current dollar exchange rate makes yarns sold in $ very expensive for most of the rest of the world I've decided to reduce the prices of my yarns a little. so yarns that were $20 a skein are now $18 and club memberships were reduced a week or two ago. Check out the shop.

AS I havne't got any of my own knitting to show you I'll show you something that Pixie is working on for me instead
It's a new shawl in a new Silky Merino Lace. She's got much further than that now. I saw it yesterday and Pixie has only got the border left to do now. It's probably going to be that pattern for this months Lace Variety Club.

Yesterday was the knitting group at spin A Yarn which I love going to each month. Joyce has got the new Manos Silk Blend solid colours in stock now and the purple colour was too gorgeous to resist. I'm planning a cable moebius with it using a cable stitch pattern I cut out of a magazine ages ago and I had the cut out a few weeks ago and put it somwhere safe and now I can't fin it. So off to search for that now.