Monday, February 23, 2009

What a not so scotsman wears under his......bathrobe?

Well he wasn't wearing his kilt when he tired them on but he has got rather strapping legs for the socks AND they look really good.

When I'd finished Kitchener stitching the toe and sewing in the starting thread I did a wee happy dance all round the flat. I reckon that now I've done kilt socks, all other socks will be a doddle. Even socks for his nibs will be easy in comparison to those monsters.

The pattern is a heavily revised version of the John Anderson kilt hose. I knitted them top down instead of toe up. I used normal dpns and I did different decreases. Neither himself or myself like the v's created by ribbed decreases in some patterns so I did staggered decreasing. I will write up and post the pattern just in case anyone wants it. Although who in their right mind would want to knit kilt hose for a 6'3" rugby player?
Nobody answer that one please.

I've made this sound like a chore and it wasn at all. I liked the interesting cables and once I'd got the leg decreases worked out and done, the repetision knitting was good. The constant row counting between each cable was good to keep the brain active and the foot was really good tv knitting. I watched all sorts of rubbish while knitting the foot on the last sock.

I've now cast-on the jumper for my Mum. I've also frogged it and re-cast-on, frogged and re-cast-on a few times. I actually knitted a swatch this time round because the wool I'm using is not only a different brand but a different weight. The swatch knitted up exactly like it said it would in the pattern then I started kntting in earnest. My gauge was all off so I switched to a smaller set of needles then I couldn't get the right number of stitches cast on. THEN I did the mobius thing again AND THEN I finally got the right number cast-on and discovered that I had the wrong needles again. I decided that sod it, I like a really stretchy cast-on anyway so I started to knit. Knitting kept getting caught on the cable so I investigated to find 3 sets of ickle bunny teeth marks which was catching the yarn. Luckily for her, I was knitting on the knitpicks harmony series and could change the cable. Luckily for her, I still had a spare one of the same size. Luckily for her that she hid under the couch so that wee boss couldn't shave off her fur and take up spinning. As if I could do that to that gorgeous wee bunny.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Brrrrrrrlin

Well its snowing again. I like snow so I can't really complain. I like sitting inside and watching it fall outside. One reason I like it so much is because it extends the knitting season by a couple of weeks. Also people are still using their chrismits and scarfs and it makes everything including that big ugly pick-up truck look pretty.

I don't like it when I step out of the door and fall on my bum because its just covered up a huge patch of ice that even my made for mountaineering boots go for a skite on (skite is scottish word for sliding or high speed. Not to be confused with going out on the skite (also scottish) which means going out with friends to a pub or club and drinking copious amounts of alcohol). Yes, the skiting without the alcohol happened this morning on my way to work and made my jeans rather wet. Not amused

To the left is a bit of a reward for doing all that knitting recently. More Malabrigo. This time pink frost and its lovely. My mum's colours realy as it doesn't, under any circumstances, go with my hair. Red and baby pink do not mix. Also makes me look bluer than I actually am. If I was any bluer, I would be a smurf. All I would need is a white pointy hat and you could call me Smurfette. I got the Malabrigo from our stricktreff 'dealer'. I mailed her to see if she still had the Wollmeise natural lace weight and if she could bring it for me and she brought this too. I'm on a yarn diet!!!!! I will not be lead into temptation. Okay so I dramatically caved into temptation but that's not a bad thing when it comes to Wollmeise or Malabrigo for that matter AND I have been knitting like a fiend recently. have a look at the pickies below and you'll see that himself's aircraft carrier sized socks are almost finished. All I have to do now is the heel and the foot and then Fanny's your aunt, they're finnished.

My trip to the Hague and Paris were both sucessful in certain ways. TH was okay despite the nasty person who decided to express his problem with my weight on a busy shopping street in the city centre.
Unwanted, rude and sometimes downright offensive opnion expressing is a national sport in this country so I try not to get offended. I've been told that the opionee's are just being honest and do this for the good of the opinion receiver's health and looks however, I'm not entirely convinced. Down right nastiness and the desire to make oneself feel good by making others feel bad about themselves seems like a more likely explaination.
The conversation went something like this.

rude cheese head: you're fat
me: excuse me?
rch: you're fat
me: well you're ugly
rch: you're still fat
me: well I can diet but you'll still be ugly.

I did manage to see a few friends there which is always nice and I got to stay in a big posh hotel which was nice too. The best thing about NL is that I can watch BBC1 and 2 there.

Paris was nice too. I didn't get to La Doguerie which is actually good because they have some new books and I would have needed check-in luggage after all. We had fun in the Thistle Bar (one of 3 scottish bars) I know it sounds silly, being scottish and going all the way to paris and then going to a scottish bar. Not living in Scotland kind of makes me homesick sometimes and going to a scottish bar makes me sick of home and anyway, I can buy walkers salt'n'vinegar and irn bru there. Also I wasn't really on a weekend break, I was on national service. We got beat by France but it was a good game and its much better than being beaten by Eng.

Wednesday, February 11, 2009

Out of Office


I'll be off to Den Haag for a couple of days (work) so my knitting is packed and so is this. Its a birds nest smoke ring in Malabrigo Lace. Its really soft and its a pressie for a friend of mine. I hope she likes it. I really fancy one myself but I'm not sure about the way the colour has worked in. Also its a bit bright in this photo. the real thing has a purple burgandy note to it. I've got enough left to knit another one. Maybe this time with the pico edge. I got annoyed with the last picot edge and frogged it.


I'm not sure if the colours are any better in this close up. A wee bit but not much but maybe I should try without flash next time.

Well I'd bette get going. I've checked in on line so I don't need to get to the airport super early. I've got my pfauenauge clapotis packed and of course some extra yarn just in case I finish everything and have nothing to knit on the train to Paris. I'm going there on Friday. I'm not going for the romantic valentine's weekend for 2. No, I'm off to watch Scotland getting humped by France. Sorry, I'm off to watch Scotland play France at rugby....
Fingers crossed we do better than we did against the welsch.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Quickie


Blogging was invented for rainy wet lunch times when you don't want to stick your head outside and you forgot to pick up your latest knitting project off the couch in the morning rush to get out of the door. Since taking this picture and posting it (record time of 5 minutes. Well its a record for me), the sky has become a deep shade of grey and the rain is bouncing off of the ground.

Oh joy. The weather gods are not on my side today. Not only did I forget my knitting, I also forgot my weather proofs which means that I'll be biking it back on the U-Bahn if this keeps up.

Just to cheer me up though. Here's a shot of Mrs W's shawl. Hope she likes it. If not then I'm sure one of her cronies will.

I'm really getting into my de-stashing or yarn dieting. Once I get back from Paris and before my mum-in-law gets here, I think I'll tidy the stash and see what screams at me next. I'm thinking that the baby pink kid silk night might want to jump onto a crochet hook and become a very lovely crochet scarf/wrap thing for summer.

The scary thing about tidying the stash is even though I only tidied a bit of it (the stuff I could see) I've not sorted the stuff in boxes yet. I'll need to empty out everything and perhaps weigh and catalogue stuff. Now that is scary. Perhaps I'll skip the weighing part. I never had a good relationship with scales anyway.

Back to the grindstone now

Monday, February 09, 2009

Frank's Fuzzy Feet Finished.

Thanks to an ear infection, I've been quite industrious over the past week or so. I was off work for a whole three days and managed to get lots and lots done. Frank's fuzzy feet got finished, laminara got blocked, shawl for Joris' mum got started finished and blocked, birds nest cowl started and finished and I've started a clapotis with the wollmeise pfauen auge or whatever the colourway its called. I bought that particular lace weight ages ago to do the peacock feather shawl but the yarn didn't want to be a peacock feather shawl. I've started various projects with it only to frog after a few centimeters again because the yarn didn't want to be a laminara, a jeanie or anything else I attempted. So this very nice but stubbourn yarn got thrown into the naughty corner and left for a few months to think about its behavior and repent. Last week's bedroom and stash tidying episode brought various UFO's to light and also the naughty corner yarn came creeping out looking very sheepish (pun intended) and calling out 'I want to be a clapotis' so its becoming a clapotis (piccie to follow sometime)




The baby sock in the above photo isn't actually a baby sock, its my size 38s. I've not got tiny feet. They're kind of average but when compared to Frank's titanic sized feet, they're more like wee tiny life boats for one. Okay so the huge sock is not for a giant. Its an UN-felted Fuzzy Foot.




This is the after foto. After 2 times in the washing machine. They fit himself extremely well and have been keeping his feet all snugly. I've still got some of the wool left and I would guess that I have enough to make myself a pair but I've got that purple stuff too. Decisions decisions... I'll make up my mind some day.




You may already have guessed since this blog is kind of picture heavy but I have a new digi camera hence another photo of Laminnara. This time while its blocking on top of a towel on my bed. I love it and I've hardly had it off of my neck since it dried. Tis very warm too.




This lovely example is for my friends mum. She used to knit for everyone and however she's now quite ill and unable to knit. She's always cold when she goes to visit so I thought a nice wee wrap, shawl, tuch or something would be good for her. I used a whole ball of some italian kid silk mohair thing. Same stuff as kid silk haze but very much cheaper and in my stash (yarn diet not broken for that) and that was including the frill at the end. The instructions I got were rubbish and in typical brit style, written out row by row. I like charts. Charts are easier to read and you're less likely to loose your place. Why do the majority of UK designers insist on writing out row by row instructions (yes its rant time again) when a chart takes up less space, gives you view on what its supposed to look like without a photo and the only translating which needs done, if you need it translating, is the key. Oh and its almost idiot proof. I ended up charting the thing myself. I also ended up changing a few things and ingoring the instructions on the frill. It turned out really well and will be on its way to NL tomorrow.

Even though its Monday, I'm actually in a good mood. The weekend was good and without hangovers. Shocking considering that this weekend I was celebrating my new job, it was karaoke AND 6 nations. I'm off to Paris on Friday to watch Scotland getting humped again. This time by France. If we win the wooden spoon 3 times in a row, do we get to keep it? Actually I think its time we started selling them back to the rest of the participants. Would be nice if someone else won it for a change.