Noblinknits

What to write

I feel a bit overwhelmed about all the things I could blog about. I've been to ballet and Japanese this week, I went to London yesterday and today I've been for a run already. Running in the morning is lovely but leaves me feeling worn out in a very relaxed way for the rest of the day. I'm excited about the things I bought in London yesterday and want to show them off but I also want to spend the day writing up a kntting pattern and knitting the sample. And the sun has just come out!

Labels: ballet, let's knit, life, running

Busy busy

I went for a run today and followed it up with a lovely bath. It is very windy but the rain held off while I was out for about 25 minutes. I jogged for 4 minutes then about 2.5 minutes at a time. More running thatn usual but at a much slower pace. I've been working on my project for Let's Knit and it's coming along well although my hand is sore. I won't do much tomorrow as I'll be at my Japanese class. I haven't done any since the last lesson which was two weeks ago. Bad me. I'm trying to balance my time to fit everything but the knitting takes precedence at the moment and I'm trying to keep the house tidy (where normally it falls apart when I'm working towards a deadline). I haven't even had much time for Pikmin.

Labels: let's knit, running

Lovely weekend

I'm almost converted to getting up early at the weekend. Lately, I've been staying up late and then getting up late and sometimes sitting in bed and reading all morning. This weekend, my nephew stayed over so I was up early on Saturday to squeeze in a run and finish tidying up. I pushed myself on my run and was pleased I hadn't totally lost fitness from last year. I definitely lost some but I'm not back to being a total beginner. I did think I should start again from scratch but I now I think I'll write my own plan. I'd like to be able to run a mile in time for the sports relief mile at the end of March and I think that's acheivable. last year I focussed on trying to build stamina for the 10k but this year I'm going to aim to run continuously for longer times.

I played lots of computer games and knitted while my nephew was with me and then we had to get up early after a night of oreos and Jurassic Park, to get to football in good time. It's a lovely sunny but cold say and the sun always puts me in a good mood. I've played pikmin and realised I can even save it on the wii with my old gamecube memory card so once the knitting's done, I'll be saving Captain Olimar one spaceship piece at a time. Later, I'll be seeing a sister to eat roast dinner and watch movies, and I'll be knitting some more. What a blissed out weekend!

Labels: family, let's knit, running

Yarn has landed

I've received some gorgeous yarn for my next project for Let's Knit. It's a lovely colour and lovely and soft and I'm very excited. I've already knitted a sore bit onto my wrist so am wearing my hoodie with a thumb hook as armour. I'd like to finish this project really quickly as the yarn took longer to arrive than anticipated. It means the green jumper is going to be put on pause for a while but hopefully it won't be another three years.

Labels: let's knit

New Pattern

My latest pattern has been published in Let's Knit, Issue 44. It's a rectangular stole made from Fyberspates Scrumptious 4 ply and was designed with beginners in mind. It introduces the technique of knitting an edging as you go, picking up stitches at the beginning and knitting them off at the end. The yarnover eyelets form an hourglass pattern that is repeated on the edging and in the centre of the shawl. I didn't take any pictures of it before I sent it to the magazine apart from one when it was blocking.

I'll take far more when the shawl is returned!

Labels: ingrid, let's knit, Pattern

Yes sir, yes sir, a big bag of wool

I have a lovely big bag of wool ready for a new project for Let's Knit. I had meant to get started on it at the weekend but I was a bit busy basking in the glory of stumbling round a wood for an hour and a half. My limbs are still achey and today I felt grim - I think it was a come down from the high of the physical exertion. It's just aswell I have all these presents lined up for myself which will hopefully start arriving tomorrow. I don't know how sensible it is buying more yarn and computer games, though, when I don't find the time to use up the ones I already have. I thought I would finish Flossie's cardigan this evening but had a mini mental breakdown and did my ironing instead. I just wanted to put it away. My younger sister has been encouraging me to tidy up as I go along and to be honest, I was so fed up this weekend of my house looking like I'd been subjected to an FBI investigation, I tidied on Sunday and I did my washing up before bed last night and today I put my clean clothes away. Freakish behaviour, I doubt it will last long.

Labels: let's knit, stash

RUN #3

Pre run munch: breakfast cereal hoops
Post run munch: twister ice cream (also contains fruit)
Time of run: 9.45am
Steps: approx 4000
Time: approx 35 mins
Category: With a friend
Feeling: Sore

This morning was my first run with a friend. It was lovely! Yet again, the advice from all the running resources is correct: training with a friend is fun. I set my alarm last night to give me plenty of time to get there but was clearly anxious about being late. I dreamed I'd slept in until 10.49am and then woke with a start to see it was 6.30am. I've only ever run by myself until now. I was worried I'd be too shy to run so I gabbled a lot while we trotted round the park, including some uphills and an extra circuit around the lake. Hills are new for me too. I think the ice cream afterwards may be considered as not terribly sensible as I started to feel woozy when I got home. I don't think my breakfast cereal helped either and my blood sugar was haywire all day. Which might explain why I bought so much chocolate at the supermarket. I also stretched and iced my shin and spent the rest of the day obsessing about the pain in it. Humph, I'm not sure what to think about it so I'll just ignore it for now ;)

I spent some time this afternoon reacquainting myself with my bedroom floor. I don't know when I last saw it but I was embarrassed to find a cardigan I haven't worn since Christmas. Compound that with then finding a dress I wore to a friend's wedding in SEPTEMBER. I felt like an archeologist, digging through layers of detritus, moving backwards in time. The bedroom floor is now hoovered and officially a floor rather than a floordrobe again. I also cleaned my bathroom using some mega stinky chemicals that left the bath extremely clean but me sneezing.

I've also been swatching a proposal for Let's Knit for the autumn. I don't suppose I should say much more about it but I was using Aragon Yarn and Drops Nepal.

Labels: Aragon, let's knit, running

The internet is a strange place

I spent a little bit too long today reading someone's blog that I possibly shouldn't have. Blogs are made for the public to read so there was no reason the writer wouldn't want me to read it but my reaction to it was difficult. It made me think about the past, it left me feeling a little sad, a little lonely. I was happy to find out about the writer's activities over the time we haven't been in contact. I was really impressed with the amount of learning and embracing of life that had taken place.

What do I do with my time?

I knit. I write patterns. I spend time with family. I now learn Japanese. I watch tv but mostly I knit at the same time so that isn't a waste of time. I work. I'm slightly smug to say I enjoy my work and it doesn't bother me to go in every day, which definitely wasn't true of previous jobs. I keep plodding onward. I've started to run but that is more like plodding onward for most of the time I'm in my trainers.

So really, I've nothing to feel bad about. I'm still moving forward and moving on and getting over it and growing and all those things that take time. I'm content.

When I was uploading the pattern for the Christening Gown I was pleased to see I'm building up a library of designs. I'd forgotten how much I'd worked on. It's a nice reminder of that last couple of years that were difficult in some ways but also challenging and productive.

I made these dresses for my goddaughter and I'm very hopeful that next week I'll have a photo of her modelling one of them. The cream dress is made using Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino which is very easy to use.

Hannah

The picture actually shows the back of the dress but that is where the interest lies I suppose. I used several different stitch patterns and gave myself a real headache writing up the different sizes. In future, I must plan better. I'll also try to avoid patterns that need sizing every so often to give me a break. This was published in Let's Knit, Magazine 40.

My tv recorder has just surprised me by waking itself up. I think this means it's going to record something but I've no idea what. I'm normally at my Japanese lesson at this time of the week so I don't see it happen. Another example of things moving around me without revolving around me.

Labels: christening gown, let's knit, life, Pattern

Hooray

I've finished writing up my pattern and have sent it off. Phew.

Labels: let's knit

Still no photos

Still no photos of the socks I've been working or an update on the christening gown. I worked for hours yesterday, finishing off some patterns and now I'm tired and grumpy and late for my dance lesson so I guess a proper post is going to have to wait again. Maybe I'll get it all sorted at the weekend.

Labels: let's knit, life

Let's Knit Issue 35

Here I am modelling my new pattern. It's a cricket style low fronted v neck sweater made in local wool from Aragon Yarns. It can be found in the latest issue of Let's Knit.

I have internet at home again. I switched provider and after a slight hiccup with the modem being delivered to the wrong address, it was all smoothly installed last night. It has a nice blue light to let me know I'm connected to the internet and not hallucinating. Now I'm seriously considering upgrading my laptop to one with a bigger screen and a bigger memory and faster processor. Bigger and faster. I've almost decided which one I want and can even get a trade in on my (really) old one. I'm just being put off slightly by the thought of having to back everything up. I have an extra hard drive to back up to and I should do that anyway as I'm trying be grown up and get organised so it's just laziness really. That's always holding me back. I'm sure I could run the world if I wasn't so lazy - or at least have a new laptop. I was also quite impressed at how well my old little laptop is working , now that I've threatened it with being replaced, when its specs are soooooo far below those of the one I want to buy. I think it might have been quite expensive when I first bought it. It's even got a touch screen - you see, I was ahead of my time.

Labels: cricket jumper, let's knit, organised, Pattern

Let's Knit Issue 33

Here's my pattern for children's beach themed cardigans, on page 41 . I'm really pleased with these patterns. They are very cute and the starfish turned out very well. The Ice Cream and Starfish are knitted separately and then sewn on.

I used Sirdar Calico which is a cotton/acrylic blend in DK weight. The colours were a bit more muted than I originally wanted but I think they capture some of the spirit of summer.

I used wooden buttons to represent drift wood or even wooden deckchairs. Really should have cropped my feet out of that photo!

Labels: let's knit, Pattern

Let's Knit Front Cover, Issue 32

Wow, my pattern made it to the front cover of the latest issue of Let's Knit.

It's a pleated short sleeve top with bead and texture detail.

I designed and knitted this in February with some help from my sister. I wished I could blog about it at the time because it didn't run very smoothly. I think I'll just try to put that behind me and bask in the excitement of being on the cover. This is a landmark for me and has prompted me to think more about what I want to achieve with designing. I've been working on several patterns for Let's Knit this year, most of which have been published now. Now I'm at a point where I could submit some new design ideas, which if they're accepted gives me a guaranteed income and a deadline to work to. However I sometimes find I'm not designing the patterns I really want to or using the best yarn for a project. There's limited space in a printed magazine so I can't just freely write and have to use such shorthand that I sometimes feel I'm not really getting across what I want to. I could try to publish independently, for example through Ravelry. This would give more freedom in yarn choice and style of pattern writing but at my own investment in yarn and perhaps I would never finish writing it when there's no editor waiting for me. And, eek, perhaps noone would pay for them? I suppose at the moment I'm working a low risk strategy and accepting the limits in return for the benefits. I'm not sure this is the best strategy anymore. I have a dayjob for security of income so perhaps now that I've got some more experience I should branch out and take a few more risks. I guess it all comes down to how much work I'm prepared to put in. Noone can answer that but me.

Labels: let's knit, Pattern, publish