Monday 29 September 2008

I'm in!


Colin the joiner came today for the beginning of a week of banging and crashing. He and his accomplice are fitting new hyper warm windows, making a door and building a cupboard. There will be a lot of dust, flying glass and hanging around.

What did I think was the best plan to survive this? Knit a sock.

Then I checked out Lolly's blog and was reminded that it will soon be Sockoberfest. Last October I couldn't knit hold four needles at once, but this year I have moved on as a knitter and socks count as stress relief. Blimey, that's progress. Today I knitted half a sock and it's still only September!

Saturday 27 September 2008

Warm Thoughts.





This week I have been nursing a chest infection, antibiotics have been prescribed and much grumbling and loafing around occurred.

I've been dreaming of soup and warm things. Rosehips? Saves you from all known germs!

Wednesday 17 September 2008

Berry Delusions.




I've noticed recently that so many of the yarns I'm knitting/spinning/dyeing have berry tones. This week I've been experimenting with natural dyes, on account of finding a good book in the library, one sleepless night and the realisation that there were blackberries in the freezer.

Unfortunately, instead of reading the good book properly, I jumped right in without proper instruction and came up with a pale imitation of what I had hoped for. Thankfully the result is quite beautiful and has already been earmarked as part of a sock. I had, however, hoped for something more resembling the berries I sacrificed.

I've learned my lesson, read the instructions and butchered Sylvia's Elder tree. I'm aiming for stronger results this time. The fleece is languishing in a pot of dye as we speak.......

On the knitting front, I finished my Febrary Lady Sweater. I loved the all in one process of knitting and already have plans to adapt it to make a jumper out of some acrylic aran that's been under the bed for years. I still think it might be a little too long but everyone else disagrees. Here is a picture to help you join in the debate. I'm always a little shocked when I see a photo of myself. There are no full length mirrors in Mog Headquarters and in my mind I'm still a lithe teenager. When did things become so..... well...... sturdy?!

Monday 8 September 2008

Seedheads and spiderwebs





Things are changing over here, the sun is lower and the evenings shorter. The garden is backlit, flowers are giving way to seeds and if you stay still long enough a spider will spin a line on your shoulder.


Autum has arrived and the time for knitting warm things is upon me - with any luck I'll something to show next time........