Shopping trip

Every so often, I take a lovely shopping trip on the internet. It's been a little too often lately, as I've been feeling low due to the weather. Some people say shopping's not the answer but then they obviously haven't been to Loop before:

I snapped up some Darn Pretty tips and cables. These have become the baguette handbag of knitting needles so when I saw Loop had some in stock, I really couldn't resist.

The 3.75mm tips are rose wood and the 4mm tips are Apple wood. 

I felt slightly amoral, but decided to embrace my dark side, as my sister ordered a pair last November and is still waiting for them.  Perhaps they'll arrive in time for Christmas this year.

I also wandered into the sale section at Loop and saw this Washi tape. I'm a sucker for most things Japanese so I bought a roll to try out on lace charts.

 

I tried it on the compliments slip and it worked well. The same piece lifted off easily, curled up quite a bit, but then stuck down again. 

This is by no means an exhaustive list of shopping.  More to come in the future. 

My Japan Day in London part 1

I took the day off of work on Friday and had a wonderful Japan day in London with my big sister Liz. In Japanese, that is approximately

わたし　は　きんようび　に　あね　と　London　に　いきました。しごと　を　しませんでした。

We took the train to Waterloo and slipped in a sneaky trip to iKnit which is a short walk away from the station.  We extended the walk slightly by going back and forwards trying to decide the correct direction. There are plenty of  things to temp but I am aware that I have plenty of yarn and WIPs already so I only bought some needles for my next submission to the magazine.

We had a dim sum snack walking back to Waterloo to fetch some sushi and then sat near the eye.  It wasn't quite warm enough to relax but we enjoyed our al fresco lunch.

We walked along the south bank to the Tate Modern. The signpost said it would take about 15 minutes and although we didn't time it, I wouldn't particularly disagree with that assertion.

The Tate Modern is housing a special exhibition of Yayoi Kusuma's work.  Although, the TM is free mostly, you have to pay for this exhibition on Floor 1 and then trot upstairs to Floor 4.  There are 14 rooms, mostly chronological, with examples of her work ranging from sketches and paintings to sculptures and full room installations.  There were also two films and original letters from art exhibition curators. I'm not hugely into art but the room installations were amazing and so I decided it was worth the entrance fee. Something that is free though, was back down on the first floor, and wouldn't make a lot of sense unless you'd been to the exhibition.  There was a room full of white furniture where we were given a sheet or coloured circle stickers to stick anywhere we could reach.  We almost fell over ourselves in excitement where we found a section of wall where people had been sticking the antiholes!

The only photo we were allowed to take was outside we a lovely sculpture.  We didn't hug it like the pumpkin, and were very sad the pumpkin hadn't made it (and even began to wonder if the pumpkin was really by the same artist) but it was cheerful flower.  We had been careful to note down our favourite art pieces as we went found but, as if it had all been planned, there were no postcards of these particular items.  There is a photo of one of them here

Then it was time ot eat snacks and wander off to London Bridge to get the tube to Hyper Japan.  More on that later.

Excessive

I like to knit socks using 5 double pointed needles. I've had a go at magic loop, two circulars and a combination of dpns and circulars but really, 5 needles is best for me. So when a pattern calls for two cable needles and I've already got 5 needles on the go, I call that excessive.

Vilai is one such pattern. Actually, I've never seen a cable that called for two cable needles before but these are very gorgeous socks so you can forgive them for being demanding. I've devised a method for knitting this specific cable within this pattern without using any cable needles and thought I'd share it. It's nothing new and not the most elegent of solutions but I'm rather fond of it. It's not an introduction to cabling without a cable needle (jeez, there's got to be a quicker way of saying that) so if you're not familiar with the technique you might want to have a read of this and a little practise before you embark on my method.

Step 1: I split the sts evenly over the four dpns, 18 on each.


Step 2: Work to the last three stitches on the first dpn. This dpn becomes a surrogate cable needle (see, not terribly elegant as the dpn is a bit long and pokey, but it gets the job done). Move this dpn to the front of the work.

Step 3: With yarn in front, slip the next stitch purlwise. This is the purl stitch that would have gone on the second cable needle.

Step 4: Work the next three stitches, k1tbl, p1, k1tbl. They are the purple ones below and the slipped purl stitch is the pink one.
Step 5: Slip the three stitches from the "cable" needle to the LH dpn. You now have a free dpn.

Step 6: This is the arrangement of stitches so far.

Step 7: This is where you use the cabling without the cable needle technique. WYIF insert the free dpn into the back of the slipped purl stitch. (I forgot to WYIF at this stage so the photo isn't completely accurate.)

Step 8: Hold on tight to the first four stitches and slip them right off the RH dpn. If you don't hold on, all kinds of chaos can spring forth (that didn't make it into any photos because it's hard to rescue knitting and photograph it at the same time).

Step 9: Quick as you like, slide the RH needle back into the three left most stitches only, i.e. the stitches that were waving around in the air and not the purl stitch already on a dpn.

Step 10: Purl the stitch on the back needle. Nearly there! You now have a free dpn again.

Step 11: Continue with the free dpn, working the rest of the stitches. Voila!


I have to admit, that after the previous post, I couldn't face tinking. I'd already had the socks on hold for several days while I had to find my camera and then charge it's battery and then find my circular needle/secret weapon so I really wanted to get moving again.
After two pattern repeats, it seems to fit well so I'm sticking with the 2.5mm dpns. If anything, it's slightly tight at the top edge.
Such a pretty pattern!

Red hat attempt number 3

So here is a hat I have been working on for at least a week. Yes you are right, it is a mass of wool and two sets of needles and 74 cast on stitches. There is no knitting. That is not to say I haven't knitted - I have made this hat three inches long twice, once with 104 sts and once with 88. Both times it was far too massive for a 4 year old and I was in danger of ending up with half a hat and no more yarn. So I ripped it again.

It is interesting how my brain has been struggling to function over the last few weeks. When I sat down to knit this hat, I thought I had very few options on what to knit it with. Fortunately, this third start has reminded me that I have OPTIONS. I bought them at Ally Pally from Jeni and told you about them here. So a couple of doh! moments were worth it so I don't have to magic loop.

Details: Debbi Bliss Rialto, 5mm needles, 52cm head, cast on 74 sts and rib for a while and see what happens.

Edited to note: The damn knitpicks needle is longer than the addi turbo. Curses. Now will have to either battle around magic loop or two circs at once when all I really want are dpns.
Edited to note #2:Sweet Lord, the separation seems to have addled my brain more than I thought. 6mm needles, 6mm needles. Glad I checked. Anyone want to take bets that this one ends up too small?

*goes to have a quick drink and a lie down in a cool dark room*

Since passing my driving test, I've moved house and had another pattern published and seen a solicitor and finished my mum's socks and cast on some socks for me and am in the process of becoming an auntie for the fifth time and am living alone for the first time in years but am plodding along and know it will all come good eventually. Perhaps life is like a red hat?

My purchases

I went to Ally Pally on the Friday and Sunday. I was helping out at the Aragon Yarns stand and also intent on some serious shopping. My original plan was to buy a Namaste bag from Purlescence then cram it full of goodies but as you'll see from the pictures that didn't happen. I like the colour of one bag but the design of another so I'm waiting for the next shipment to come in. I did visit Robbyn and Arman at least 5 times over the two days and they were very helpful and patient with me.

Aside from the bag, I think I got everything on my shopping list. I wanted a ton of sock yarn, some lovely patterns, some dark blue yarn for a cardigan, and a needle tube to stop me treading on my sock needles and breaking them. On Friday my focus was sock and lace yarn and I went to see Jeni at Fyberspates for it.

When I got home on Friday and started looking at lace shawl patterns, I began to realise I might be hampered by my needle collection. On Saturday I went through all my needles (they are now hung on the light fittings round my living room as decorations) and decided that although I had many needles, I needed a better solution to the right size wrong length dilemma. And I clearly needed more yarn.

So here's what I bought:

Shown above from left to right: 3 hanks of Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock for a pair of stockings, two hanks of Fyberspates Nef Lace for a special project, 5 hanks of Fyberspates Scrumptious DK for an office cardigan


Shown above (yarn from left to right): Fyberspates Dream Sock Yarn, Skein Queen Sock Yarn, Brooklyn Handspun Sock Yarn (both from Socktopus), 2 more Fyberspates Dream Sock Yarn, Knitpicks Wooden Options Set!!!
Shown above (yarn from left to right): 4 hanks Koigu KPPPM sock yarn in two colours (it was reduced from £8.50 to £5 at Getknitted so it would have been a crime not to) 1 more hank of Fyberspates Dream Sock Yarn (which I have coveted on the internet for ages so was really happy to get this particular colourway), 12 balls of Sublime Organic Merino, 3 sublime pattern books and a HIPPO

The Hippo eats your sock and if you tread on it you only squish the hippo not the needles. It is bwilliant and I found it at the Web of Wool on Friday. Way better than a needle tube.

I have already earmarked patterns in the Sublime books for the new yarn and some I have stashed away and I feel all inspired and excited and want to start knitting for me again. I have a few jobs still to finish before I can really knit for myself but at least I'll have things to blog about again. The lace project is still a possibility. I have to find the right pattern and then take a deep breath. I don't want to talk about it much in case it doesn't work as lace is such an investment but a member of the family is engaged and I've been wanting a new lace project for a while so a lace shawl for the bride...?

So in total: 1 pair of stockings, 8 pairs of socks, a cardigan, a jumper, a shawl, 3 books, interchangeable needles and a Hippo. Well done me. Can you guess what the damage to my credit card was?

My birthday

It was my birthday last Friday. Here are my knitting related presents:


A multipack of Quills which are dpns made from milk. As you know, I've had a run of bad luck with breaking and losing dpns and then I tried using two circulars but it wasn't a hit. My big sister knew I fancied this set and I've tried them and really like them! I love Decorative Knitting and it gives me loads of inspiration. Knit Kimono was mentioned to me by a friend. I haven't had a chance to look at it much yet but I love Japan and there are pages of info on Kimonos and history which I will enjoy.




This isn't really a birthday present but a little while ago, Chris bought me an organiser and today my sister and I filled it with my stash of beads and ribbons. Um, I seem to have more than I realised.

For my birthday we went to a sealife centre and camping and a castle. It was my favourite birthday ever.










I'm a bit all over the place at the moment with knitting. I have several things that need finishing (okay, more than several) and keep wanting to start more so I'm going to focus on finishing things over the next few days and then working on things to earn me some money. I've made a plan for a few projects to try submitting to magazines and might try selling some on Ravelry. I've even opened a paypal account but I don't really understand how it all works. It is very interesting to try new things.

Tomorrow, I'm having a little birthday party with my mum and might make chocolate cornflake cakes (ingredietns: chocolate, cornflakes).

Post 100! So tell me, what's the point of blogging...

...if it doesn't help me keep track of my projects.

For example, when did I finish this? And why is it too long?



My finger points to the end of my toe.


And when did I start this?




It is a simple, top down, stocking stitch heel flap sock. I've no what I'm doing with the toe. I took it to KniTWells two weeks' ago.




I lost some more needles so tried learning to use two circulars but I don't like it. I don't like magic loop either but fortunately my sister found one of my needles. I won't buy ebony ones again, I think I lose them as they're so difficult to see.

Needle karma

Those Brittany needles and I just did not get along.

Either I trod on the sock and broke it or the crash this morning as husband was putting the kettle on broke them. Leaving knitting on the floor is not only naughty it is reckless and the result is that I have to put my socks on hold.

They are very beautiful.

I'm going to order a new pack of 2.25mm needles. I found the Brittany ones too blunt and sticky so I might treat myself to some hyper expensive Lantern Moon sox stix. I have two sets already (blonde 2mm and ebony 2.75mm) and a set of dpns (rosewood 4.25mm) so I'm already au fait with spending oodles of cash on toothpicks. While I'm at it, I might by some 3.25mm ones aswell. Makes sense really, not to pay p&p twice.

So, I have three 2.25mm birch dpns going spare. Let me know if you could make use of all or any of them and I'll send them over. How's that for needle karma?