Old Shale

Also known as 'feather and fan,' Old Shale is an old, well-known  stitch pattern  common in Shetland shawls.
it is  to be found in Hap Shawls and was where Brooklyn Tweed's Baby Blanket found its inspiration. For quite some time I have wanted to knit this simple, effective shawl cum blanket for snuggly winter days, so  when we were on our recent holiday to Reykjavik I had this pattern in mind when I was doing some of my fabulous yarn shopping. (Well, Number Guy, when you said 'Buy more Icelandic yarn, for us it is really cheap.' I took you at your word, hence the 76 balls which found their way into our baggage....)

  There is lots of lovely yarn around but I wanted something which was  soft, but not merino-soft. I wanted a bit of texture in there as well. As soon as I got my little mitts on

 Kambgarn I knew  that this fit the bill perfectly. And yet it is apparently merino! Well, that's totally fine. The only rule I had when we were in Iceland was that I buy yarn produced there. So several balls of this were added to the basket.



The yarn was beautiful to knit with and I cast on while we were still on holiday. The simple garter stitch square which forms the centre of the blanket was very soothing. I wasn't up to anything at all complicated because I was in the middle of a medication trial which  was terrible.Let's just say that it had absolutely no effect on my trigeminal neuralgia and I was suffering greatly. In addition, I was still  doing my best to get out and about and sight see and that plus the pain left me exhausted, so evenings of simple knitting  and an audiobook were just what I needed. I finished it a  couple of weeks ago, save for the ends, and here is the blocked result:

I love the creamy yellow colour which reminds me of ripened fields of grain and the yellowy-green  of the border is a satisfying contrast.

I have enough of the Kambgarn to make another Sweet Tea, a crocheted camisole.

 I have made this pattern recently and really enjoyed the process and the finished product. The Kambgarn has knitted up into a lovely swatch so I think it'll be great in the camisole.

The remainder of the yarn haul is the well-known Lett-Lopi and  lots of a laceweight yarn called Einband. This yarn actually feels appallingly rough in the skein but I have been assured that upon washing it softens considerably. I sure hope so as I have a lot of it....

And would I recommend a trip to Iceland? Well....when we first got there, the day after a fabulous sunny week in Stockholm it was cloudy, raining, cold. The bus to take us from the airport to reykjavik was broken down and we had been travelling since 4.00am.As my husband said,'If anyone wants to come to Reykjavik, I'm going to recommend Stockholm' ;0) But...the weather turned the next day and we had a  great time.  Neither of us wanted to be driving on this holiday: I was too ill and Number Guy needed some serious relaxation. Therefore we booked three tours with   Reykjavik Excursions . I thoroughly recommend this company- they collect you at your hotel, the buses are clean and safe and the guides friendly and knowledgeable.

So, all in all, a great time was had by the both of us and I came home with lots of knitterly loot. Perfect:0)

Headline: Yarn Snob Uses Acrylic- Is the World Ending?

I know, I can hardly believe it myself. I am going to blame it all on crochet. Yep, crochet. When my interest was rekindled in this woolly craft I found myself turning to the dark side. But don't worry, I am only using acrylic in some very specific circumstances (see how I am justifying/reassuring myself here?).


Blankets. Yes, acrylic blankets. But isn't wool warmer? I hear you cry. And...nicer? Yes, a resounding YES! on both counts. But I find that I don't want my woolly warmers to be  dragged over the grass, or be wrapped around someone sneaking  that last serving of beetroot salad, washed down by cranberry juice. So for hard wearing blankets that I can launder with ease, I am  making the following in Stylecraft DK.

Bright and cheerful and not to be worried about.

But my heart still lies with wool:

Noro, Kambgarn ( from the 76 balls of yarn that I recently purchased in Reykjavik) and various DK weights of pure wool from Lang

Screwed-over in the craft world

Further to the post below, ACM has been wound up...there's a surprise....you now all need to watch out for this phoenix company:
HANDMADE LIVING MAGAZINE LIMITED: Kerries father is now the director, Richard Rycroft

The above was added to this original post below:

if you want to avoid a lot of heartache, avoid All Craft Media like the plague.That is what Kerrie Allman calls her empire today. Tomorrow it may well be something else. This is a litany of appalling and deliberate screwing-over of the craft community. It started in the knitting and crochet community. Now we think she is moving onto the sewing and quilting world. You can read about it : here or for those of you who are members of ravelry.com, you can find details in this group:'Freinds of the group once known as...'

Spread the word. This has to stop

Spring?

Spring has sprung, right in the middle of my knitting.

Well, OK, it still isn't Spring, but the flowers were cheering me up. The knitting is the two sleeves plus yoke from Summer Solstice . I imagine that you have to be logged into ravelry.com to see that link. It's a fun knit....interesting construction means that there is no seaming to be done at the end of it. The yarn is Artesano Superwash Merino . I don't know how it will wear, but it is knitting up beautifully.

Making Monday

Today it is more about making time.


Making time for a new project Stripes to Keep Me Warm , the yarn shown in the picture below


Making time for a new book The Invisible Ones . I do believe I actually squealed out loud when I saw this book in the shop today. I loved The Tenderness of Wolves

I have also made Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup, but I don't have a picture of that.

There has been knitting

In amongst all the crap of late, I have been knitting.

This is the Sake sock from Cookie A's book Knit.Sock.Love

I also got some yarn from Knitivity....you will find him on Ravelry.
Excuse the quality of this shaky photo. The yarn is gorgeous, go have a look at his stuff :0)

Look closely...

...at the bottom left-hand side of this scarf and you will see 'I heart Z.' This fabulous scarf was knitted for me by my good friend
KEDKrafty as a special present when I moved to Switzerland. As soon as winter gets to be serious, out this scarf comes. It warms my neck and it warms my soul. It's great to have friends!

first knitting of 2010

I ran up this little number with some baby alpaca and silk. It needs a little blocking to show it at its best, but I wanted to give it a trial run today- it's cold outside. I foresee another Cité before much longer.



ETA: What a difference a little TLC makes:

Hoovering the crockery.

For some of you this may be further evidence, as if it were needed, that I have been licking the aluminium again* ;0)

The reality is a bit more mundane. I have an 'official' allergy to house dust mites (and some fruit moulds). That is to say, I have been tested and diagnosed. Usually it isn't too bad, but it has been driving me mad lately. I noticed lately that when I sit at the PC, or at my dining table I would immediately start sneezing/itching.

Now, some of you may be amazed to know that I don't like housework. Yes, really, hard to believe, isn't it? I manage the usual stuff, but dusting the shelves where I keep the 'good' crockery is above and beyond the call of duty. But not-too-close inspection revealed a whole warren, not just the odd (dust)bunny. So now I am feeling all virtuous, having been up close and personal with the Dyson ;0)

Apart from the housework, what else have I been up to? While my darling boy was here, we did some sight-seeing. Amongst other places, we went to Davos and watched in amazement as some complete nutters adventurous types tried their hands at this:


Now I don't fancy skiing,but I can understand the appeal,particularly in such beautiful places as the Swiss Alps, but why anyone would want to throw themselves off a mountain when there is a perfectly good cable car is beyond me!

The weather in general has been cold and snowy, leading to some fantastic scenery.

When we weren't out and about, I was busy fulfilling a request - my son told me that his girlfriend would love to learn to knit. Well, I couldn't let a chance like that go by. I duly purchased an Addi circular and some gorgeous Rowan Wool and Silk. Sadly, the poor girl is allergic to both wool and alpaca. I had to teach her with some man-made fibers,shock horror! To be fair, I got what turned out to be beautiful red nylon and acrylic, plus some black bamboo and soya. She is now well on her way to her first feather and fan scarf. And she wasn't the only young 'un with pins in their hands:



And with that comforting sight, I shall leave you just now.

* I also do Wasgij jigsaws. I know. But we all have our foibles ;0)

Only 3 years late....

Pattern: Cabled Socks

Book: Home, Debbie Bliss

Yarn: Cashmerino DK

Mods: Wrapped short-row heel; the directions in the pattern left holes.

For: My mum

Finished: Sept '09

Started:....blushes...3 years ago...

Choice of weapon

For some people, the Addi Lace is a prerequisite for successful knitting. For me, however, the weapon of choice is the humble highlighter pen, preferably in an assortment of colours.

For a simple shawl this is unnecesary, but if yo have ever knit one of Anne's shawls, you will know that 'simple' isn't the word that would usually be used to decrible her work. Hence the colour-coding helpas I attempt to knit
irtfa'a.

Attempt is the operative word. The written instructions are making perfect sense, but I am a charts girl. And one of them isn't making sense at all. I have emailed Anne and I know that she will attempt to clarify things for me. Why 'attempt'? Well, my poor brain is like mush and I cannot quite explain what the problem is. Either it's because I still haven't recovered from the 10-hour stopover at Luton on Thursday. Or I am getting a bit dottery. Hmmm.

Lost

...without my knitting.

The scarcity of blogging has mainly been due to RSI. Which is also affecting my ability to knit. So much so, that I left it all back in Zurich and have brought none to the UK with me.

I'm not liking it and am somewhat concerned about what I will do it if doesn't get better. No knitting? Sheesh...

But I AM going to a knitting meet-up today, so I can at least soak some up by knitterly osmosis :0)

Toothache - what a nerve!

Indeed - since the tooth in question has a nerve no more....still, it feels as if it does and the right side of my lower jaw is making life unpleasant. BUT (and that was a big but....) I am only in pain, not terrified. And that makes all the difference, as I am sure many of you know. There's no infection so it is just a case of hoping that in the next few weeks the pain will abate. All in all my face has had quite a bashing, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

To help keep my spirits up, we've been taking an evening constitutional. We have some beautiful wildflower meadows nearby, but sadly the camera on my phone fails to do them justice.

There has also been a little finishing going on:



This is a Drops design, which for the life of me I can't remember but it will be in my Ravelry account. I like it. Due to my, ahem, somewhat fuller figure, I only have the one button at the neck, but I think it works. This is the second re-worked garment that I have finished recently - the first being the Cocoa 'Jolien' that I blogged about previously. I think the next one up will be the Debbie Bliss Collared Cardigan - it's finished but I'm not feelin' the love.

And now that I have finished wittering on, I should get on with the German. But don't forget - get yourselves over to
Baldy's Blog and sign his petition/get on the bone marrow register.