one good apple

I got these gorgeous Japanese embroidery books from eBay at the weekend and set to work making a couple of pillow cases.  The pen still needs washing out but I’m pretty busy for a change this week and wanted to post them before the weekend.  So excuse the little blue ink patches (which reminds me, a kid was showing off his invisible ink to me at school today by spraying it on the collar of another boy in the class.  You can guess what happened next, can’t you?)

Repeat ten times: I will make something for someone other than myself, I will make something for someone other than myself…  I want to make some little embroidered hankies for my sister and various other people but for some reason it’s stupidly difficult to find ladies hankies.  Maybe I’m not looking in upmarket enough shops.

To leave you with, a picture of the girl - she’s applied to Mensa and is waiting their approval as I type,

I mean, approval is just a technicality, surely? x

Presenting the lovely Juliet,

and the sweet buttons I found in my stash on her,

I might add another three going the other way, they’re quite small so I don’t think they would overpower the cardigan or anything.  In other breaking news, the best friend cardigan is finished *fanfare please*

It needs buttons.  I am ignoring the fact that it needs buttons.  I am so ridiculously happy that this is finished that I can’t describe it properly.  I have about five balls of yarn left over from it but couldn’t bear to look at again for a while.  Best put them in the cupboard and cultivate some happy memories to do with this jacket.  So in contrast to two projects with bigger yarn I have cast on a new Thermal.  The old one was frogged months ago to make way for Muir and the new one is with Sirdar Cotton 4-ply in a kind of denim blue.  I’m in this one for the long haul, I think.

I have turned into some kind of knitting vampire.  All day at work I was itching to get home to finish off the gorgeous Juliet that I started on Saturday and want to get finished so I can wear it as soon as possible.  I love knitting but it’s been a long time since something called to me like that.  I really only have a few more lace repeats to do so it should be pretty easy to finish off in front of the telly tonight.

 As I type Donald is inspecting Enid and she is protesting mildly.  Every so often I will hear a scuffle as she scutters off and he takes chase.  As if to prove that animals make even less sense than humans, as soon as he stops chasing her she goes and bugs him until he starts again.  I got this fantastic package

in a BLU swap on flickr on Saturday and they have managed to drag themselves away from each other for long enough to sample the many treats.  Enid is a gannet, she’ll eat anything.  Donald is more discerning (Flumps aside) but he is particularly taken with the Cloverleaf Cookies . Not to mention the yarn as a treat for me along with a sweet scented candle and wind chime - thank you Jill!

Oh, Charlie Wilson’s War was ace.  I wish he’d make more films like that.  Maybe I should write to him, I’m sure he’d listen…  I can imagine that I’d begin with this one letter and soon end up like Patricia Routledge in A Lady of Letters by Alan Bennett, obsessively sending off letters to all and sundry mindless of the consequences. 

My mum is quite a proficient letter writer and quite often drops the Prime Minister a line to let him know how he is doing.  I will never, for as long as I live, forget the time she wrote to Andi Peters in the Broom Cupboard (one for the eighties and nineties kids only I suspect…) complaining that he has said ’sugar’ on air, in her mind a substitution for ‘bugger’.  I couldn’t even look at the telly for days, I felt like he knew what she’d done and was watching me.  Mad as a bag of cut snakes.  And the scary thing is that sometimes I say something and catch myself and think, ‘god it’s her!’  There are worst people I could turn into though but I think I should keep the complaint and advice letter writing to a minimum just to be on the safe side.

I haven’t talked much about knitting today so I shall go and do something that I can legitimately talk about on a knitting blog.  Like the fact that my Best Friend Cardigan has been frogged, re-knit in the smaller size, has a body, an arm, and is not so patiently awaiting the rest of the yarn which was sent out Saturday to finish it off x

If Christmas was all about excess then January is all about being frugal.  In more ways than I’d care to think about. 

There’s the bank balance for a start which has taken a huge battering this festive season and is now in a kind of cash-related rehab.  My favourites on Etsy are bursting at the seams and I just have to tell myself no. No, no, no, no, no, NO.  We’ve just got tickets to see The Mighty Boosh in October (October!) and that is the last of my spending for a good while.

My weight is also bursting at the seam, quite literally actually and that is another thing I have to get back under control.  Admittedly I was like a cow in the run up to Christmas and over it - grazing constantly all day long hungry or not - so not it’s time to get back on the straight and narrow and lose it all in time to put it on again over Easter.  I don’t hate healthy eating, I hate the fact that I can’t seem to find the balance.  I either stick to healthy food religiously, forsaking chocolate and bread and cheese, or I go totally off the rails and eat like it’s going out of fashion.  I just love to eat.  I love the different tastes and textures and how stew with dumplings makes you feel all warm on a cold day and Mr Whippy cools you down on a hot one.  It’s a toughie. 

In order to motivate myself to get back to my pre-binge weight I have found a dress (on Etsy again) that I love.  It’s all Courtney Love, Victorian velvet  and is gorgeous.  And I will not buy it until I have lost exactly how much I want to lose.  If clothes aren’t motivation enough I don’t know what is!

I’ve been working on lots of other stuff this week but I need to photograph it all, will hopefully get to post pics tomorrow.

Remember when Tom Hanks was funny?   I mean, stupid laugh, weird faces funny?  The Money Pit is one of my all time favourite films, along with other classics *hmm* like The ‘Burbs and Joe Versus the Volcano and Bachelor Party and the list is pretty much endless.  Not that I hate the new Tom Hanks stuff, it’s just that after Forrest Gump everything got a little serious and then he went so far down the serious road that it looked like he couldn’t find the way back.  I mention this because we’re going to see Charlie Wilson’s War this evening and I’ve heard very good things about it.  Funny good things, not serious, ‘Tom Hanks makes you believe the character’  good things.  All my fingers and toes are crossed and my hopes are raised to a dizzyingly high level.

I’ve signed myself up to a load of different swaps lately and can’t wait to get going with them.  First of all is the UK Swap, then a bunny swap for the BLUgroup on flickr.  On top of that I’m doing a  Lost In Translation one for a Ravelry group I’m in - I’m scouring etsy for some light blue yarn so I can make a scarf like the one made by Charlotte in the film - and finally a Miss Marple swap and read -along. 

I love Miss Marple.  In fact I love Agatha Christie full-stop, every single weird and wonderful detective she’s created.  And I love the fact that even though I’ve read most of her books at least once, I can’t for the life of me remember who the murderer was in any of them apart from The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd.  When I was a kid and we were visiting my aunt and uncle in London, my mum went to see The Mousetrap in the West End.  My sister and I were taken to the cinema instead and afterwards we met in this little Italian cafe drinking cappuccino (which were very cosmopolitan back then), looking through the steam filled window at the car lights whizzing past and begging to be told who the murderer was.  And my mum flat out refused to tell us.  Although I suppose that’s the success of such a long-running play - no one knows the ending till they see it.

Knitting-wise I’ve been working on my stripey jumper using some yarn my mum gave me for Christmas

I have a horrible feeling that I’ve made it far too big but I don’t have the energy to frog it and start again so if it’s a little on the large side I’ll just have to go with it.  I’m also making progress on my Best Friend Cardigan.  I still haven’t received my second packet of yarn that I ordered, thanks to Royal Mail, but a fellow Raveller Mooncalfhas very kindly sent some spare from her stash so I’m nearly there.  That’s one of the great things about places like Ravelry - how generous other knitters are.  I don’t have the time *excuse alert* to go to my local knitting group but Ravelry makes me feel like part of a knitting community as well as giving me heaps of ideas and inspiration.

I set up an etsy shop this weekend!  Ooooh look at me!  Pride of place are these fingerless glove/hand warmer type things,

in a couple of different yarns.  I’m actually really nervous about whether anything’ll sell but I figure if I don’t try I’ll never know.  There are some of my bunny softies in there too, hopping along waiting to be adopted.

Other than that I’ve been plodding along quietly and making the most of my last few days of holidays.  I finished off my lino prints and I’m quite pleased with how they’ve turned out

I like the idea that you could write something in the speech bubble, like the owl is hooting some kind of message to you.  I also made my first sock monkey,

although he has no facial features yet.  That was meant to be a job for this weekend but I got caught up in the vintage vertical stripe afghan knitalongweekend challenge on ravelry and the poor faceless thing got pushed to one side.  That’s not to say that I’ve achieved anything remotely near what I was supposed to with the afghan.  I’m going to slope off in a minute to try and do a few more rows before bed time.  Sock monkeys are great though aren’t they?  I mean, he looked rubbish before I sewed his little snout on - like, well, a pair of socks -  and then a few stitches and woosh! instant personality.  And that’s before he even has a mouth or eyes and stuff (see how he’s a ‘he’ already?).

Okay, I can hear my afghan calling, might as well make the most of my freedom before tomorrow starts again x

… k.i.s.s.i.n.g

They weren’t really in a tree, that would be weird.  And, I’d imagine, impossible.

Part One: Crafting

Do you knit, crochet, or both?

I do both, although more knitting than crochet at the moment.

What do you like to make? Do you have a favourite project?

Instant gratification always works for me.  I like making toys, stuff for myself, sweaters, the usual really…

Do you have a favourite type of fiber or brand of yarn?

I’ll knit with pretty much anything although merino and alpaca are always winners.  Brand-wise I’m not too fussy either but Debbie Bliss has been an amazing yarn to knit with and I was gifted some gorgeous Artesano Hummingbird by Mandy my SP11 pal.  I am also seriously coveting this at the moment.

Do you have a least favourite type of yarn?

I’m not a big fan of novelty yarn with bubbles and bobbles and stuff like that.  Other than that I’ll knit with pretty much anything.

Do you do any other crafts?

Oh god yes, jack of all trades, master of none, that’s me.  I paint, draw, make stuff with clay, cross stitch, embroidery.  I’ll try anything as long as it means I can put off the laundry till later.  For example, today I was meant to read up on Language and Gender for the start of term.  Instead I filled in this questionnaire, bought a badge maker, made some badges, bought some yarn, worked on a sweater I’m knitting and commented on a ton of blogs.  The school work is still sitting in a bag on the sideboard.  Humph.

What knitting do you bring ‘on the go’?

Oh I don’t.  Work is work and I have no time for anything and I drive to and from work so…  If I’m going to see my mum I’ll take something for in front of the telly - usually what I’m working on at the time - although it doesn’t normally see the light of day.

What do you carry your ‘on the go’ knitting in? Do you want something new?

I have various little cotton bags, too many to justify another one.  Although if the material’s cute enough…

Are there any knitting gifts (book, toy, yarn, item, tool) that you have been lusting over?

Other than the yarn I mentioned earlier?  Peaches and Creme is great to knit with - I just finished Quant using a skein of it.  I could do with somewhere to keep my crochet hooks, they languish with my embroidery threads at the moment looking all lost and forlorn.  Book-wise I like the look of ‘Vintage Knit: Thirty Knitting Designs for Men and Women’ by Kim Hargreaves and the last Rowan Magazine.

Part Two: Your Favourites

What is your favourite colour? What is your least favourite colour?

I love purple (this apparently means I am vain)  I wear a lot of blues and greens but love bright reds also.  I’m not a beige person and I’ve never really gone for ‘natural’ hues.  Obviously neon is never a good call and I am definitely not a pink person.

What scents/smells do you like? What don’t you like?

I love that Christmassy smell of cinnamon and apples.  I also like coconut and passionfruit stuff.  I’m not a big perfume fan really and I don’t really like flowery scents.  Grump grump grump.

How do you like to pamper yourself? (bubble bath, hand creams, massage, manicure)

Mmmm hand cream.  We only have a shower so bubble baths are out of the question sadly but I really like coconut shower cream and body shop cocoa butter.

What goodies to you like to treat your tummy with? (chocolate, biscuits, truffles, etc.)

My tummy enjoys treats more than it should .  I like dark chocolate - the hard stuff, 70% and above.  Oh, and After Eights.  I could eat After Eights until I start to smell of mint.  I also have a soft spot for old fashioned sweets like flying saucers and dolly mixtures.  Cheap and cheerful.

Do you prefer tea or coffee while you knit? Any particular kind? Favourite mug/cup?

I was raised on Yorkshire Tea, stewed to within an inch of its life with plenty of milk.  You can tell a good cup of tea by the tannin stain left on the side of the mug.  My favourite cup is a vat and saucer from Whittard’s.  It was meant to be a Christmas present but I kept it for myself (can you see where the purple thing comes into play yet?!)

Do you listen to/watch anything while you knit? (TVshow-Along, movies, music, podcasts)

Tom Hanks classics - The ‘Burbs, The Money Pit - as well as stupid stuff like Anchorman and Dumb and Dumber (best film ever) that you can watch without thinking about.  I also love I’m Alan Partridge and The Mighty Boosh and Peep Show.  I’m highbrow, honestly.

Part Three: Living & Past-times

Where do you live in the UK?

Liverpool, capital of culture 2008  *titters into hand*

Have you always lived here, or did you grow up somewhere else?

I grew up in Yorkshire, strong in the arm, thick in the head and all that.  Came to Liverpool to go to Uni  nearly ten *sob* years ago, met the boy, and never left.  Why would you leave a city where people call you ‘queen’ on a daily basis?

If you could visit anywhere in the world, where would you go?

God, everywhere.  Travelling across America on a Greyhound bus and pretending I was in a Simon and Garfunkle song was always particularly appealing to me.  I’d like to go to Russia too (GCSE in it don’t you know, just don’t mention the grade) and back to Berlin again please.

If you couldn’t go to a knitting group, what other kind of gathering would you go to? (book club, tea party, yoga class, jewelery class, etc.)

I go to a local book group once a month and I swim, although not as much as I should do.  Other than that there’s nothing I do on a regular basis.  In fact, don’t tell anyone but I dont even go to a knitting group.  I don’t know why seeing as though there is a perfectly good one down the road once a week

What’s your style? (elegant, traditional, glamourous, girly, natural, sporty, outgoing, etc.)

Ha!  Elegant is not a word that could be applied to me.  I like what I like, vintage dresses and skirts for work, lots of cosy knits, anything that’s a little different to everyone else.  I’d like to say quirky and unique but that sounds a little big headed.  A girl in my tutor group told me the other week, ‘You wear really weird clothes but they look really good on you’  I took that as a compliment.  To do otherwise would have upset me.

Final Part:

Any allergies/preferences (fiber-wise or treat-wise)?

My face complains vehemently if I put anything other than Clinique on it (the snob) but other than that I am proud to say I’m allergy free.

Anything we missed that you’d like your partner to know?

Nope, I’m done.  Feel free to ask though.

In honour of Fagin himself I made some fingerless gloves today from my own pattern

Quick Fingerless Gloves

Yarn - Debbie Bliss Merino Superchunky

Needles - 7.5mm (to give a gauge of 17 rows x 12 sts = 10 cm)

Left Glove

• Using a provisional cast on , cast on 20 stitches.  Work the following Four row repeat,

Row 1- knit

Row 2 - knit

Row 3 - purl

Row 4 - purl (this probably has a technical name but I’m not sure what it is…)

• At the same time,

Row 5 - K6, BO 4 sts, K remaining 10 sts

Row 6 - K10, cast on 4 sts (using magic loop method), K remaining 6 sts

• Continue working pattern until you have completed seven sets in total
• Kitchener live stitches together.  Weave in ends.

Right Glove

• Work as left glove except,

Row 5 - K10, Bo 4 sts, K remaining 6 sts

Row 6 - K6, cast on 4 sts (using magic loop method), K remaining 6 sts (this ensures that the ’seam’ sits in the palm of each hand rather than on the top of the glove when worn)

 And that’s that.  Feel free to use the pattern although I’m not sure how much sense it makes.   I added some little buttons that my sister got me for Christmas.  Think I might make a batch of these with various embellishments and see if they sell anywhere.  Time to be a little brave I think.

Any hoo… off to do some lino prints I think.. x