Cabled hearts.

I cast on for a new pair of socks when I was up in Glasgow the other week (I’m hoping to blog about the trip at the weekend!).

I’m using my hand dyed once tangled yarn, and although the pattern isn’t too complex, it is fiddly and time consuming. It’s a Jennie Cartmel pattern for the SolidSocks August/September Mystery KAL, and I’d been wanting to cast on for these socks since early August. I’ve knit one Jennie Cartmel pattern before, and it was lots of fun but it was toe up (not my preferred method) as a little tricky, so I was looking forward to trying one of her top down patterns.

As usual, I don’t think I’m going to get these finished by the end of September deadline (I need to start casting on earlier for these SolidSocks KALs!), but I love this pattern all the same. The little hearts formed by the cables are so sweet!

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Tinker, tailor, soldier, knitter.

Sorry for taking so long to reply to all your blog comments! I have read them all, and I will reply to everyone this week, but I suspect that my September blog presence will continue to be a little bit scarce. These 60 hour weeks are killing me! I’m hoping things will start to normalise in October, partly because I’m starting to go a little insane, but also because I’m really looking forward to Socktoberfest!
Anyhow, I popped into Newcastle after work yesterday for two things:

1. Buy yarn.
2. See Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Despite how insanely busy town was (thanks today’s Great North Run it felt like everyone in the world was either in Newcastle, or making their way there!) I managed both of the above. Of course, first came the yarn…

It is mmmm so yummy, and the silk gives it a beautiful sheen. I had gone to The Knit Studio hoping to find some Malabrigo (I fondled some of this for the first when I was in Glasgow and am kicking myself for not having bought any! I cannot believe how soft it is.). Sadly, I didn’t find any Malabrigo, although that might be down to me not looking properly as I was in a bit of a rush. This Manos did catch my eye though. It is absolutely gorgeous, but at £14 for 100g it is the most expensive yarn I have ever bought!

There were so many luscious colours, but predictably I left with the brown. It is kettle dyed and has such wonderful and rich variations. I did very nearly buy the green Manos instead, but this skein is for gift knitting so I thought I’d play it a little safe. I might have to go back for the green though, it was the most beautiful zesty green and looked amazing paired with this brown (in fact everything looked great next to this brown). I’m dreaming of something striped, I think my Boneyard shawl has whet my appetite!

I’m a little unsure about what to make with this at the moment. I had initially decided on 198 yards of Heaven, but then I saw the Spiral Cowl and my giftee has a 2 year old, I’m wondering whether a cowl might be more practical than a shawl which could be prone to slipping off..? Decisions decisions.

I also managed quite a bit of progress with my second Vanilla sock while I watched Tinker, Tailor (LOVED it!) at the Tyneside Cinema, which made me extra happy as it was the first knitting I’ve had time to do all week. I even managed to keep things mistake free this time around as well! I might have to rename these socks my “cinema socks” since that’s where I seem to be spending most of my time working on them.

I found it quite serendipitous that the film ended just as I was reaching the start of the heel flap too. Happy days!

I was so pleased with my efforts that I snapped a pic whilst standing alone in the centre of Newcastle, waiting for the boy to come around with the car! I got so many strange looks for this...

Those of you who follow me on twitter might have already seen this, but here it is for the everyone else to see!

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jewelled silk

I’m still obsessed with silk hankies. The other day I tried my hand at dying them, and I love love love the results.



The silk soaks up the dye so beautifully giving these wonderfully vivid jewel tones that I am completely in love with.



This was quite a thick stack of hankies, so the dye didn’t always completely penetrate, but I’ve learned my lesson and I will be sure to prepare more dye than I think I need next time!



I actually quite like the bare patches of silk, it feels like a little cool oasis amongst all that colour. Besides, I’m convinced that this is going to spin up pretty regardless of undyed patches.



I really don’t have much more to say about this silk beyond the fact that

1. I think it might be one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever done,
2. I can’t wait until the merino I’m currently spinning is finished so that I can start on these pretties, and
3. I got a little excited and snap happy when it was all finished and dry, so excuse me while I keep quiet and blog a ridiculous number of pictures of lovely lovely silk!

I cannot wait to play with these pretties!

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In the Boneyard.

I finished my Boneyard shawl!

I actually finished her a couple of weeks ago, but haven’t gotten around to taking any decent pics yet, and since I wanted to blog about it I snapped a couple of quickies when I got home from work a few days ago.

 

Boneyard Shawl by Stephen West

Yarn: Rowan Amy Butler Belle Organic DK
        Stylecraft Ethical Twist 70/30

Ravelled here.

I love it!! It’s actually not as huge as I thought it was when it was all bunched up on the circular needle. It’s still a large shawl, but it’s a pretty respectable size, although I haven’t blocked it yet and I do suspect that it will grow a little when I get round to it. But that’s ok!

I love the stripes, I love the colours, I love that this feels like a hug of wool around my neck. And I’ve just realised that both the wools I’ve used have been organic. What a bonus!

Both the yarns have been absolutely wonderful to knit with. The Ethical Twist is soft and lovely, but it does shed a bit and it is a teensy bit prickly. I should really have gone with the 80/20 baby alpaca mix, but the 70/30 was already caked up from a previous project so I took the easy option and went with that. The Amy Butler yarn is pretty darn dreamy too. It’s soft and silky and has a wonderful drape. My only qualm, and it’s a minor one, is that it’s a little bit splitty as it’s made up of 7 2ply strands plied together. I picked up the Amy Butler on sale in John Lewis a little while ago and didn’t see any other colourways so I assumed it was a discontinued line, but I’ve since seen the whole line selling Hobbycraft (including my colourway!) so I guess it’s not discontinued in the slightest. Which is good news as it’s lovely to work with, and there are some seriously pretty colours!

But back to the shawl, I can tell already that it’s going to be The Shawl for me this autumn/winter. It’s just so cosy, and warm, and comfortable, and easy. I can tell that I’m going to be getting a lot of wear out of it.

 

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untangled.

Check out this knot-free beast! What a change from a few weeks ago. I am inordinately proud.

It was actually quite quick and easy to tame. I finished untangling it all the night before I left for Spain (it took precedent above packing!), but by then it was dark and there wasn’t time to take a decent photo. Blogging about my triumph over the knot gods has been high on my priority list since I got home, but life seems to have gotten crazy busy lately.

It started last Wednesday evening, when I got a phone call out of the blue from the company who made me redundant a few months back asking me if I was interested in doing a few temporary shifts for them. They asked me if I could pop into the office the next morning, and with my bank balance being as depleted as it is I would’ve been a fool to say no, so along I toddled bright and early. And therein lay the start of a 48 hour week.

I am shattered! I’ve been in the office every single day from Thursday until yesterday, and the only reason I’m not there right now is because today is the Boyfriend’s birthday, and tomorrow we’re heading up to Glasgow for a long weekend. And starting on Monday, as long as everything goes to plan, I have 60 hour weeks to look forward to until the end of September! I didn’t quite realise how much I was signing up for when I was sitting in the meeting room glibly nodding my head to all the hours they were throwing at me. Oh the joys of client deadlines! Here’s hoping I’m still alive by the end of the month…

Still, I do feel very fortunate to finally have an income (as short lived as it may be) again after so many months of nothing, and my bank balance will be looking a little healthier after my month of insanity. But it has meant that all my knitting and blogging has fallen by the wayside as I’ve been far too tired to even pick up a needle since last Wednesday. Can you believe that I didn’t even know where my knitting was until I sat down at this computer and rediscovered it tucked in next to the monitor (clearly where I must have left it after last weeks blogging)?! I usually always know where my knitting is! I really have no idea how all you full time workers have the energy to churn out such fantastic knits and regular blog posts in the way that you do. I am filled with a newfound respect for you all!

The upshot to all this is that my Glasgow trip will be even sweeter. I am so looking forward to knitting and wandering around the Botanic Gardens and the yarn shops and Fopp (if it’s still going…). I’ve been itching to cake this untangled yarn up and start knitting with it, but I’ve been holding off until I’d blogged about it, so I think this mini break is the perfect opportunity. My plan for this evening (as well as packing) involves caking the yarn, printing the pattern and getting my knitting bag in order so that I’m completely ready to get my knit on during the three hour drive up to Glasgow tomorrow.

Bring it on.

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