Escape to the country

Project progress has been a little slow of late due to the stitching on the Great Scottish tapestry. More about that soon. However earlier in the month, I escaped work for a holiday and headed off for an annual break with some stitching friends. We hire some farm cottages and spend the weekend talking, stitching, knitting and getting to see all the animals.

There are chickens and chicks



Dogs



Goats that go for walks and help with the weeding



But best of all are the alpacas







I managed to finish a pair of socks when I was away - the yarn is Knitpicks Felici in Time traveller. A very appropriate colour way for this lifelong Doctor Who fan.

March Madness progress

Really can't quite believe that March is over already.  What has made it particularly unbelievable is the very wintery weather.  Scotland doesn't have the best weather but snow at the end of March is fairly unusual and it snowed most days last week.

March has been a pretty good month for craft progress.

First, of course, was Autumn Queen.  I had hoped for more stitchy progress but my hands are causing me a few problems at the moment again.



Knitting wise I finished these very bright socks which are very much in keeping with the neon clothes in the shops just now.  I'm having flash backs to 1984 when I go into a clothes shop just now. I wore a lot of neon then including some very bright tights - my school had a very strict brown uniform but no one thought to specify colour of the tights we wore.




There has been a little bit of a jewellery product line going on.

Lots of bracelets



Some assorted other stuff



There are a couple of more jewellery bits but as they are for gifts, I can't share just yet.

April's theme is Amazon April - to work on your biggest projects.  I have a more than few things that fit into that.  I'm planning to work on my long term sock yarn left over blanket.  Also I think some of my long term Chatelaine projects might need some attention.

Flying by

Life seems to be going by very quickly at the moment hence the lack of blog posts. Work is keeping me really busy plus I've been out and about socialising a bit more lately, which has been nice.

There has been some knitting finished.

Purple socks for one of the Race for Life draw winners. The pattern is Angee by Cookie A. I've concentrating on sock knitting this month for the Socktoberfest KAL



And some simple gloves in Colinette jitterbug that are coming in very handy now winter is starting to make an appearance in Scotland.



On Sunday, I spent the day at my mum's learning to sew something based on a top I own. My mum spent most of her working life working in clothing factories and bridal shops plus she has always sewn clothes for herself and the rest of the family. She was showing me how to use a top that I own to make a pattern to make another top. She then helped me to use the pattern to make a top. I'm pretty pleased with the results. She helped me a lot with the sewing also as the fabric was pretty tricky. I can see more sewing in my future.

Hello March

February has been both a good and bad month for me. The bad was mostly my body deciding to let me down with the fall and the thumb injury and then on Wednesday, I was struck with a particularly nasty bug which I'm only just getting back to normal from. Throw in lots of cold weather plus yet more snow and this all means I'm so ready for spring now.

However there were lots of good things. The Winter Olympics was just fabulous and I loved watching so many of the events. Britain didn't win a lot - just one Gold in the Skeleton Bob but Winter sports aren't so big here. I know there has been a lot of press in Canada about British criticism of the games hosting but that was mostly just the usual nonsense that the nasty British Press spouts. Everyone I have spoken to about the Olympics over here though Vancouver put on a fantastic games and I really think it showed Canada in general in a great light. My Cousin and her family have just moved from Scotland to Lake Country in BC so a trip over there will probably be on the cards at some point, via Ontario as other family stay there.

As I mentioned before, I was taking part in the Knitting Olympics and I managed to finish my socks.



The pattern is called Socktopod socks by Cookie A. Its called after the shop that ran the Sock club, Socktopus run by the lovely Alice. I was lucky enough to visit the shop in September shortly before Alice decided to stop running the shop. A lot of my sock yarn stash and sock inspiration came from the shop so it was sad to hear that the shop was closing. Alice is, however, running a big Knitting event in London during the summer, Knit Nation, which I'm planning to attend.

The stash reduction plan continues. This month, I did have quite a bit of yarn in - 4102metres. I had a splurge at 100pure wool with some lace yarn and yarn for another hat or two for me plus I had the remains of my leaving present from my old job in vouchers for John Lewis so I bought yarn for a Summer cardigan.

However all was not lost as my knitting group had a Swap night, where I managed to trade/sell quite a few skeins of socks yarn. Added to that, I gave some leftovers to a friend for a blanket project and I finished two pairs of socks. That all added up to 4117 metres, meaning I ended the month with 15 metres less yarn than I started with. Now that is a good result.

Socks and a little hitch

The knitting still continues. At the weekend, I finished a pair of very pink and fluffy socks for my sister.




Unfortunately on Sunday, something else happened.



I managed to fall off my computer chair after it over balanced. I didn't think I had done any damage until my hand got painful on Monday and I started having problems using it. The Doctor I saw doesn't think I have a fracture, just some soft tissue damage. The splint is to stay on until the weekend. If it hasn't settled, I might need a MRI to check for a fracture in a tiny bone at the base of the thumb which can't be seen on X ray. I'm really hoping its going to be okay as not being able to use my right hand is really tricky as I'm right handed plus I'm off sick from work. Plus there is the small matter of not being able to stitch. I can still knit in very short bursts but trying not to do much to make sure I give things the best chance to heal. There is also the whole challenge of getting dressed, cooking, etc with one hand.

Stuck at home progress

The past week has been pretty much home based for me as I've had a heavy brush with the flu. Not sure if its the H1N1 or regular flu but I do know that its knocked me for six. One week on, I'm still off work and feeling below par. I did the sensible thing and quarantined myself at home with plenty of fluids and lots of rest. Thankfully I'm getting back to normal and hopefully I will be back at work at the weekend. Which will be just in time for me to get my flu jabs at work as apparently the vaccinations start next week.

As I've started to feel better, I've been managing to knit and stitch a bit. Mostly still stitching as it seems to be calling the loudest. And I managed to finish something - Thanksgiving Harvest Fairy by Mirabilia. Its on 32 ct raw linen using the recommended Crescent colors threads.



October is Socktoberfest in the Sock knitting world. My aim is to try and finish some of the socks I have on my needles. First up, the Pumpkin socks I started last September. I've finally managed to finish the first one and I've made a start on the second.



Hopefully I can get them finished before the end of the month.

Socks and stitching

One of my favourite things of the year is the weekend GTG that I'm going to in a couple of weeks. A long weekend in a lovely group of cottages on a farm with lots of stitchers and crafters who I've known for quite a few years now. Last year, the owner of the farm sounded us all out about making a wall hanging for her farm in return for a discount on this year's visit. Different people are doing different bits of it - Kate of Sparklies has designed the cross stitch section for instance and Joy has been organising us all plus putting it all together along with several others. I've stitched a small section and I really can't wait to see it all put together.



Flowers aren't my usual thing but I volunteered to stitch the french knots as I really like stitching them and most people aren't too keen. My stitching motivation still isn't too great so it took me a lot longer to stitch this than it should have.


Knitting motivation is still going strong however. I've finished my Kai-mei socks from the last post. The pattern is by Cookie A, who is definitely my favourite sock pattern designer. She writes such lovely patterns. The yarn is Malabrigo sock in Lettuce and its even greener in real life.



I've also made some progress on my Socktopus March sock club socks. The first sock is done and I've moved on to the second.



I quite like the embellishments even though its not particularly practical. Hopefully I shall finish the second one this weekend.

Next week brings the first week of two weeks off work which I'm really looking forward to. I'm hoping for lots of stitching, knitting and crafting plus there is the GTG and lots of things to do around the house.

May Monday progress

This past weekend has been a lovely time of rest and relaxation after a very stressful week at work. I've cooked myself some lovely food - Asparagus cannelloni due to the bargain aisle at Tesco and then couscous, pittas and houmous yesterday. Having time off also meant I got some stitching and knitting time in.

Yesterday I got some stitching time in Autumn watergarden, which I've fallen behind with a little. I've now managed to get part 1 finished, beading and all and got a fairly good start on part 2.



I've also been stitching on my part of the group wallhanging that I'm part of and that's almost done too.

Knitting wise, I've been knitting on a couple of pairs of socks. First up, the Socktopus club socks from last month's parcel have made some progress. The people in my knitting group have heard my frustrations with these socks at the last meetup I made it too as I was having problems with one of the pattern lines that was in turn causing problems with the stitch count. It turns out that one of the written pattern repeats had an extra yarn over in it but the chart didn't. I had been using the written pattern, hence my problem. After getting over this, I made quicker progress. The first sock is knitted and I'm now on to the icord embellishments of that sock.



Whilst I was really frustrated by the problems of that sock, I cast on the first of a pair of socks from the new Cookie A book - Kai-Mei in Malabrigo sock in Lettuce.




I have done a little yarn buying over the weekend though. I've been trying to find a little cardigan to go with my dress without luck. I did, however manage to find the right colour of cotton yarn to knit one so hopefully with a firm deadline, I hopefully should get it done. The yarn is Drops safran and I'm planning to use the pattern Marigold from Rowan 45.

Friday progress

I'm continuing to make some progress on my goals for this month but I fear I may run out of month before I run out of goals.

I have finished one of the pairs of socks that I currently have on the needles - Plain stockinette socks in Lorna's laces shepherd sock in Jungle stripe.



I've also made a start on the latest Socktopus sock club socks - Over the garden wall toe up socks by Loumms creations. The yarn is Artist's Palette sweet feet in sweet pea.



Toe up socks are a new thing for me so I'm learning a lot. Mostly that they are easier than I thought they would be.

Finally I've finished the side panels for Japanese Octagon box. I really want to get this all finished up soon as it will look perfect in my bedroom which has a lot of oriental bits and pieces. Last week I finished redecorating my bedroom and this would just set it off perfectly.

Mondays are for..

..going to the gym and updating my progress on some projects this week. I'm lucky enough to be on another 2 weeks of holidays from work - I have to use up all my holidays by the end of March and I was given back a ton of holidays back from when I was off sick in the summer. Mostly I've been spending a lot of time sleeping as I was having some insomnia problems prior to being off.

There has been a bit of knitting going on though. I've finished two pairs of socks. First up, a pair of socks in Old Maiden aunt sock yarn dyed by Lilith from my knitting group. The pattern is Marlene by CookieA and was in the last issue of Knit 1 magazine.



The second pair are the Om Shanti bed socks from the first month of the 2009 Socktopus sock club. The yarn is Chameleon colorworks Evolution which I've used before.







I had a very weird issue with the second sock as the yarn just after I knit the toe was slightly thicker than the rest of the yarn and it striped differently. This produced a weird change of size/gauge which I only noticed when I was much further on. I decided not to rip back as I had already had to reknit the leg and cuff of the first sock after I shared a picture of it last time as I couldn't get the blooming thing on properly. My ankles are a little on the chunky side compared to my feet, especially my left one which has been prone to problems since my back problem appearred.

Here's a close up of the gauge/size weirdness.




Tomorrow it is off to knitting group night where I am hoping to make some progress on a Hooded cabled cardigan which has been in progress forever ( actually only 2 years). Hopefully the other knitters will push me on and not distract me too much with other shiny things. I did resist the crochet projects at the last meet up.

Exchanging, knitting and life

The past two weeks have been filled with a few ups and downs. Getting the downs out the way first, well there was telling my boss that the job trial was not working out. However it did have the upside of the people working there telling me that they were disappointed that I wouldn't be staying and telling my boss that I am good at my job. So that was really great to hear. The major thing that happened was that my aunt died sort of suddenly. My mum is one of 11 children orginally. Her youngest sister died as a young child but all the rest of them have been fit and fairly well until recently when my mum's oldest sister developed some heart problems. She ended up in hospital and seemed to be doing well, then she very suddenly became very ill and died. The funeral was just over a week ago and was a little surreal as my aunt was a Roman Catholic nun. She spent most of her life in Nigeria so part of the service had Nigeria hymns. In recent years, she worked in several Glasgow parishes so as a consequence, the mass was said by 6 priests plus the Archbishop and with around 30 or so nuns in attendence. At times my Aunt had expressed the occasional doubt about the life she had chosen so it was lovely to see how many people she had touched during her life. Quite a lot of my extended family attended the service too so it was lovely to catch up with lots of my family plus I got to meet the family's newest member - a little baby called Jack who was born on the 6th of September this year and is my mum's first great great nephew.

On to other things. Since my last post I've heard that an exchange I sent has been received plus I've also received an exhange.

I sent this to Suzanne as part of the SBEBB biscornu exchange. Its the Sunflower biscornu by Helga Mandl.



I received this from Becky in a personal Halloween exchange. Its the Halloween needleroll by Shepherds bush.



I've been on holiday from work for the past 10 days and I've been trying to finish up a few of my many WIPs. First up I finished a scarf which has been lingering on the needles for a while.



And then this afternoon, I finished the pair of scoks that I cast on at the Iknit day. The pattern is Monkey by CookieA once again and the yarn is Shelridge farm soft touch ultra. I am a little addicted to the Monkey sock pattern I think.



Last night I finished knitting a cardigan/jacket but its currently drying off after a little blocking so I should have pictures over the weekend. The weather has turned colder this week so its the perfect time for finishing lots of knitting.

Summer's end

Its almost September which always signals the end of Summer for me and sort of the start of a new year too as its my birthday next Sunday. This year I'm spending my birthday partly in London as I'm going to the iknit show next Saturday and I will be flying back up on Sunday afternoon, hopefully after spending Sunday morning doing a little sightseeing. Its been quite a few years since I visited London other than passing through Heathrow, partly because I really can't handle the underground. I have a bit of a phobia of height but really more specifically Escalators, which the underground is full of. It doesn't matter so much this time as I've got the trip worked out so I don't have to use it and I'm staying very local to the show. The very exciting bit of this trip is that I'm going to see the Yarn Harlot speak. I really enjoy her books so it will be a thrill to hear her and there's going to be a lot of lovely yarn all in one place.

In Knitting news, I've finished another pair of socks, the 7th pair for Summer of Socks. I'm hoping that I might finish another pair but given that the deadline is Monday night, it is perhaps unlikely.

This pair are knitting in Lorna's laces shepherd sport in Georgetown. Very observant readers of my blog or Ravelry pages might note that I seem to have a thing about this shade of Lorna's laces as this is the 3rd pair I've finished in this shade and I still have more in my stash. I just love this shade.



More China pictures. As was pointed out in the comments, I was a little mistaken about the balloons, which are of course lanterns. After our mountain visit, we moved on to a local village called Buyang. Its a sort of model village place that they take tourist too but its a real village as well. We all spent a night there. Myself and one of the others (Gillian) ended up staying in the house of Director Sui, who is the village communist party chief, which was a interesting experience given that my Mandarin extends to Please, Thank you, counting to 5 and asking a taxi driver to switch on the meter in a taxi and the villagers didn't speak or understand any English. Inspite of that, we had a fabulous time and were treated so nicely. The food was amazing and we all got a bit drunk with the constant cry of Gambei (Cheers). Here's a picture of us all with our hosts.


It was then on to Qufu, Confucius's birthplace, where we visited his grave and the forest where his decendants are buried, each generation represented by stone animals, like those below.



And Confucius's grave itself. We also hired bikes, which was apparently illegal for us to do but I wouldn't have missed it for anything. We spent an hour or so cycling around the garlic fields out to a Mausoleum in the countryside and provided a lot of entertainment for hundreds of Chinese children on their way home for lunch. Apparently westerners on bicycles is the funniest thing ever lol.



The final picture today is of the next place we went - Nanjing and the Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum. The weather was very Scottish that day and made me feel quite at home.



Its time for bed here. I've received a couple of blog award things which I've gratefully for and I'll write about them next time.

Monday craftyness

I've taken a break from my Ravelympic knitting last night and today to finish up some other projects that are lingering around my flat.

First up is a necklace for my sister. It was her birthday last week but she's been away visiting her inlaws so I haven't seen her. Hopefully she will like it.



I also finished up these felted flower pins for her too. They've been lying around for a week or so waiting for the pin backs to be attached.



And finally something for me. I found a bracelet that I'd started making a while back so I thought I'd finish it up.



I did get down to some knitting tonight though and I finished up another pair of socks. Its another pair of Monkey socks in Yarn yard merino tencel in the shade birthday. I really love this pattern and the yarn is so very soft.



Finally more pictures from China. Today's pictures are of some recognisable places. First up, the Great wall.





I visited two different sections of the wall at Jinshanling and Simatai. Both of these sections are further out from Beijing that those that you often see in tourist programs and during the current coverage and as such they are less developed. The best thing about that is there are less people so its less hurried. Also its a lot less noisy. One of the major things that I noticed in China is just the sheer amount of noise. No one really seems to have a concept of quiet, probably simply due to the amount of people that are always around. Personal space also seems to be a bit of an alien concept too - it was a little disconcerting how close strangers wanted to get and at times, some people just walked up and started commenting on your appearance or the fact that you weren't Chinese or just start to ask lots of personal questions. Glasgow is kind of known for people coming up and telling you their life story on the bus but we are amateurs compared to the average Chinese person. Having said that, I don't think I met anyone the whole time I was there who wasn't polite, so very friendly and genuinely pleased to meet anyone visiting their country.

Secondly Tiananmen square.



I found Tiananmen square a very spooky place to visit. Perhaps it was just my imagination combined with the knowledge of what has happened there in the past but I felt uneasy and a little sad whilst I stood in the square. As you can see in the picture, the air is pretty smoky. You can feel it in your lungs and on your skin.