The Knittery

This morning I got to visit 'The Knittery'. The Knittery is my friend, Hella's machine knitting room. She lives in a beautiful house in the Cornish countryside with outbuildings and is lucky enough to have an entire room for her 5 knitting machines. I brought my camera and I forgot to take a pic. I wish I'd taken photos as this room is amazing. Seeing all the machines set up and all hte cones of gorgeous yarn was very inspiring. Last winter I was given a 2nd hand knititng machine by someone who came to one of my workshops last year. Unfortunately the knitting machine wasn't in as good a condition as i'd thought and I'm buying a different 2nd hand one from Hella. All her machines are in great condition. So this morning I went around for a lesson and to try the machine out. Hella is bringing it for me on Monday and is going to set it up for me. Then I'll have it on trial for a month to make sure I' happy before I buy it.

Machine knitting is very different from hand knitting and I'm enjoying it although it's not going ot replace hand knitting. But seeing some of the things Hella has made is so inspiring.

This afternoon I've been updating the website. There is more Silky Merino Lace and Angel Lace. Here's a taster:
Silky Merino Sunny
Silky Merino Rosebud:

Silky Merino Last Dance:

Silky Merino Delicate:

Angel Lace Sunny:

Angel Lace Rosebud:

I'm keeping one of these gorgeous skeins to knit the Rosebud Stole again. It was originally published in Yarn Forward but their copyright has expired so I'll release it myself but I want to re-knit it first and Angel Lace is perfect and I love this colourway. I may try to cast on this weekend.

And here is some news for you! Stand on a wooden needle and it breaks. Yeah, I know it's obvious but I quite often chuck my knititng on the floor which I did today with my garter stitch Socks That Rock shawl and then I stood on it. Damn! Never mind, luckily I've got lots of 3.75mm Knit Pro tips.

Last night I did some spinning. I've been wanting to try to spin low twist singles. I had a small batt so had a go at that. Not very successful. I found the batt difficult to spin and the low twist singles difficult. Got too much twist and my yarn is very uneven. I'll still skein it and finish it and then evaluate how big a failure it was.

I've been feeling very low today. Since Wednesday my back has been very bad. I thought my massage yesterday would sort it out but this morning I woke up at 5 am in agony. I wanted painkillers and I needed the loo but my back was so sore and stiff I could barely move so it too me an hour before I could get out of bed. I should have stayed home as sitting at a knitting mahcine for nearly 2 hours wouldn't help but I've been trying to get together with Hella for weeks now so I dind't want to cancel. I think my back is finally starting to get a little better now after a lot of stretching and gently moving around today. I've got a deacons meeting at church tonight and I'm thinking about not going. I don't want my back to get even worse for the weekend. Tomorrow Simon and I are clearing out our bedroom. It's a tip and needs a bit spring clean (yes i now it's autumn) and we've set aside tomorrow for the job. either I'll still be in pain tomorrow and won't be able to do it or I'll be feeling better and then worse again after doing the job. I'm also a bit worried as I've got a very busy week next week so I could do with a quiet weekend to get my pain levels under control.

I've got roast chicken, roast potatoes and yorkshire puddings cooking and they're nearly ready so I' dbetter go and feed my family. Just hope Simon gets home soon as I've no idea how to carve a chicken.