BrightDyes June BFL Sock Club parcel

I love surprises! :)



A beautiful card, exquisitely made with knitted decoration! And what lovely colours....


A little closer.........


Thanks you Chrissy it is lovely :)

Weekend events.............

I went to Dublin for the weekend and attended a beginners crochet class on Saturday morning at This is Knit in Blackrock. Ann and Lisa took the class and I learnt how to make a basic chain and do doubles etc. I can now finish my Debbie Bliss Tie fronted Cardigan.



Of course how could I pass up a real live yarn shop and not buy anything? So what did I get? 12 balls of DB Cashmerino for this and a few odd balls of Cashsilk and Puresilk for smaller items. :)

I had a ball and would have loved to have got on the DART and gone into Stephen's Green for the World Knit in Public event, but I had imposed on my aunt's goodness and her babysitting service long enough. :)

I am not buying yarn for a while now and going to finish up some of the many WiPs now on my list. :)

Useful accessories...........

Do you have anything you would hate to do without once you get it? I now have a winder and swift and I couldn't, or is it wouldn't do with out them.

My wool-winder I got on ebay but my swift is a hand-crafted work of art made by a lovely husband and wife team. And if I didn't have a 2 year old who likes to 'play' with everything my swift would always be on display with some beautiful yarn. My 9 year old says 'kewl' when he sees it in action. A compliment indeed. :)



BTW the lovely purple plummy yarn is YarnAddict's hand-dyed merino. :)

YPF..............Piece of Beauty Sea Silk

BronzedPink Sea Silk from Piece of Beauty's new shop.......it is so silky soft.....:)


This is a picture of the skein next to Handmaiden SeaSilk, they are both lovely but Kirsty's is home grown. :)

New Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Book

This arrived from Jannette and it is even lovelier than in these pics. I want to knit several garments. There is a beautiful Cashmerino DK jacket for a little boy with sheep in it and DS2 has his eye on it. :)

4 things meme............

RooBeeDoo tagged me when I told her I hadn't been tagged, I deserved that for my moment of silliness..............here goes.....
4 jobs I have had in my life:
My very first job was in a local fruit and veg/deli shop. I loved all the fresh produce and learnt a lot about cheeses.
My next job was as a 'helper' on a summer scheme for mentally handicapped children.
I then worked as a Children's Nurse after completing my RSCN (Registered Sick Children's Course) course at the RBHSC (Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children).
I later worked as a District Nurse with adults and children.
4 films I can watch again and again:
No prizes for this one. Lord of the Rings, I think Peter did a great job with this trilogy of films and I can watch Viggo and Sean 'to infinity and beyond'.
Matrix trilogy, again I could watch Keanu do 'his flying thing' again and again.
Dune, the one with Sting, I loved the books and I love this film version too.
Star wars, while I prefer the first 3 (4,5,6) I still like the first 3 too. Liam Neeson is a home grown hunk whose voice is to die for. :) See a pattern here? I do .....
4 places I have lived:
I was born in Ghana, West Africa, though I remember very little of that home.
I have since lived in Belfast, London, and Newcastle upon Tyne for up to 3 years at a time.

4 TV series I watch:
My all time favourite is CSI, I love Grissom........I love this season's cliffhanger, can I wait, hell no.......hurry up!!!
House MD, isn't he so arrogant but brilliant!!!!
Law and Order Criminal Intent, for me this is the best of the L&O series.
Silent Witness, another home grown actress who gave a wonderful portrayal of a Forensic Pathologist.
4 places I have been on holiday:
Kusadasi in Turkey, Ephesus is a must to go and see........
Rome is fabulous, when the boys are bigger we will hopefully take there. The Collosseum, Circus etc etc will 'entertain them'
Paris, France, cultural capital of the world?? Lovely and I always think of Abba's Last Summer when I think of Paris. "Walks along the Seine" etc.
West Coast of America. We did a round trip from LA to The Grand Canyon, Flagstaff through Sedona, Las Vegas, Mammoth Lakes, Yosemite, San Francisco, Carmel/Monterey and back to LA, before the boys came along.......
4 things I do every time I am on the Net:
Emails, Blogs, Forums and Knitting shops......doesn't every knitter do this?
4 things I would NOT eat for anything in the world:
Tripe
Tripe
Tripe
and pickled Beetroot.....
4 places I would love to be right now:
New Zealand with my family
New Zealand with my family
New Zealand with my family, but DH won't hear of it so I'll stay right here with him and the boys. :)

Now I will tag. Piglottie, Noo, Terri and Tana No obligation to do this however! :)

Vanessa finished with photos

All done, just some loose threads to weave in or trim. A quick knit and I do like the Jaeger Trinity. This took 5 balls for the 38" size :)

I KNOW these jeans make me look fat, and I will not be wearing this top with these jeans............ever again! :)

Gutted........................about US International shipping price hike

I have to vent here.............................

I wanted to get a couple of more STR skeins, as I do periodically. I knew there was an increase in shipping all over the US but I was GUTTED to see that the international shipping charges have doubled!!!

If an item is over $34/£18 (BTW all dollars are US) we have to pay customs from outside the EU. For example a past order from Loopy was $36 and at the time I bought it it was £18 (I checked with XE), however, when it arrived 1-2 weeks later I was charged £7 (approx $14) plus change in customs charges for the less than $2 dollars excess. This unexpected addition made the total $62.75/£34 instead of $48.75/£26.78 for 3 skeins of IT Tiny Toes. With the shipping hike now 2 skeins of STR to the UK with customs charges would potentially cost $76/£41.42, prohibitively expensive, or one skein would cost $43/£23.22 to $45.5/£24.57 (lightweight or mediumweight). Am I being unrealistic here?? I do feel sorry for the likes of BMFA and other sock clubs who will have to absorb the cost in predetermined club prices.

BTW I am not criticising the sellers, not at all. But what requires a 100% increase?? Why not phase this in over a time period?? If I get 3 skeins from Austrailia for $8 (US) why does it cost 300% more from the states, when it used to cost only 50% more ??? Why does this article say an average of 13% price increase?

I found this quiz on BrightDyes Blog.

You Are An INTJ

The Scientist You have a head for ideas - and you are good at improving systems. Logical and strategic, you prefer for everything in your life to be organized. You tend to be a bit skeptical. You're both critical of yourself and of others. Independent and stubborn, you tend to only befriend those who are a lot like you. In love, you are always striving to improve your relationship. You have strong ideas of what love should be like. At work, you excel in figuring out difficult tasks. People think of you as "the brain." You would make an excellent scientist, engineer, or programmer. How you see yourself: Reasonable, knowledgeable, and competent When other people don't get you, they see you as: Aloof, controlling, and insensitive

What's Your Personality Type?

Knittery YPF

I saw this yarn on a few blogs and was so tempted. Sock yarn (merino/cashmere) in Orchid. and 2 ply silk-merino in Berrybliss :) They are much nicer in real life of course.

Lola Finished

All sewn up, cable edge added, and a little Lion and Lamb to spare, phew!:)




Now to join Weight Watchers after seeing this picture! :)


What am I looking at? My 2 year old on the new Trampoline with safety net etc being energetic :)

Vanessa to finish now! :)

More colours than Blue to Moon over

.............I love them all................how is a girl to choose?

Lola progress.........................

All sewn up and waiting on the cabled edging. I hope I have enough yarn to finish this, or failing that that This is Knit has some of the same dyelot :)

YPF...........Seduction

This week's Pron is a skein of Seduction from Blue Moon Fiber Arts in G-rocks. This yarn is so beautiful that I couldn't bring myself to do anything other than stroke it. Instead of that I have offered it to Piglottie to auction for her special Charity, The Rainbow Trust. I believe she will auction it in June on the Crafty Threads N Yarn Forum.

I found pictures on this blog showing socks knitted up in BMFA Seduction, just in case you wanted to see. :)

Secret Summer Santa

Look what my Secret Santa sent me.


My DS is delighted to get his hands on the little pink pig which he is convinced was sent to him :)


I want to thank my little Pink Pig friend for a lovely surprise :)
EDIT I have guessed wrong so now to find out. :) My Secret Santa was blogless Farmgirl. Thank you so much :)

Nearly there........Lola

I'm on the home stretch. Just the Rt front and the cable edging to knit and of course the dreaded sewing up! :)

I have been tagged

I have been tagged by RooBeeDoo

Rules:

1. Each player starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged write a blog post about their own 8 random things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog you need to tag 8 people and post their names.
4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment to tell them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I was born in Ghana, West Africa. When I went to rent a room in a house in London my live-in Scottish landlord had lived in the same town in Ghana that I was born in for 5 years.....

2. If I wear a watch for longer than a few days at a time it stops working......

3. My favourite snack is peanut butter and Picalilli on Toast............and no it wasn't pica I just love the savoury taste of it.

4. I want to emigrate to New Zealand, even though I've never been there, but DH won't hear of it.

5. I build computers from scratch as a hobby, but lately knitting has consumed a lot of my spare time.

6. I am a qualified Aromatherapist, though I've never practiced as one.

7. I love the sort of books that men usually read. Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Thrillers. The only exception to this is Dorothy Dunnett historical novels.

8. I failed English Literature O Level miserably, despite my Father teaching English.

Now I tag SussexYorkie, FluffyKnitting and Fiona; only 3 because I like to break the rules :)

Auction Update................

Piglottie has another Rainbow Charity Card update, mind you they are so lovely I bought mine before I put up this link ;) See Cards HERE.
One I snaffled for my sister who is cat mad :)

Daemons............................

I loved the Dark Materials Trilogy.....The Golden Compass is out in movie format this year. I'm looking forward to seeing how they handle his writing. :)



BTW I saw this on Aknita's Knits and Zeitgeist :)

Bag Ladies..............

You may remember I posted pictures of my Felted Bag Progress in March and April part one and part two. Another fellow knitter and blogger has made a similar journey making a Noni Bobble Bag and the result is stunning. I got permission to post this for you.



If you want more information about making and finishing these bags pop over and see how she made and lined her Noni Bobble bag.

YPF YarnYard Merino

My Surprize in Creative Threads n Yarn Sockamonth April Draw. A skein of hand-dyed organic merino donated by TheYarnYard. I love it...........Thank you N. :)

More Lola............................

This knits up very quickly. A back, left front and half a sleeve finished. :) The yarn is divine to knit with, even nicer than when I knit it for a Clapotis. :)

I've also been making some jewellery.


This is for my Niece's First Holy Communion on Sunday. :)

I really need a new camera to show off detail in these shots, don't I. :)

Lola in Motherlode

I gave up looking for Yarn Forward and my cropped cardigan pattern for the Lion and lamb when I saw Lola It looked nice in Debbie Bliss' Stella Book but on a real person it looked fantastic so I started knitting. :) I like it so far, what do you think?

Making up...........................

I've now to do a bit of sewing (the bit I hate ;) ) so I can do the ribbing around the v neck. Wish me luck :)

Yarn Pron Friday nearly late.............

Mother Lode Cakes...................yummy

Lola socks

Knit in Schaefer Lola bought at Woolly Workshop. There is enough for some little socks for my 2 year old. I've also started Tidal Waves socks in Tofutusies. :)

This is Knit......................

I finally got to go to the lovely yarn shop near my Aunt in Blackrock, Co Dublin. This is Knit. I met the lovely Lisa and Jacqui in the shop on Sunday morning. It was so lovely to talk face to face with human beings who didn't think I'd forgotten my pills when talking about sock yarn, Knitty, Yarn Forward etc. Heaven............and all that lovely yarn to squeeze in person. No one looking as if I was tring to shoplift because I fondled the yarn. I'm hoping to get back for a crochet for beginners class in June..........here's hoping. They also are an online shop with their own blog. :)

This is the Stash! :D

Special Friends.................

Sometimes people are lovely and then sometimes they are just so special..........Piglottie is one of those so special friends you all really want.

She hunted high and low for a sock yarn, I hadn't tried, to send me for my Birthday. I know, a momumentous task shopping for someone who appears to be trying to single handedly 'test knit' at least one of each sock yarn available in the world.

Here is what Piglottie sent me...............

Sundara One year Anniversary Sock Yarn in CherryBlossom.

Yarn Pron Friday early.............

I'm off to Dublin tomorrow so I'm posting this early. Posh Sock yarn for DH in Mister and Emily in Dawn Chorus for a Forest Canopy Shawl. :)

May Day Yarn

My BrightDyes Sock club May Yarn - May Day. My surprises were 2 woven labels for my knitting. :D Thanks Chrissy it's beautiful.

Birthday S.E.X and stuff

A little Birthday Present to me from GK. As you can see mostly pattern books to use up some accumulated stash. Though I am very tempted by Glade on Kathryn's blog and got a few Bamboo balls to try out. I'm going to swatch the Sirdar to see if it's suitable as it would be nearly £20 cheaper. :)

I also got a wool winder on ebay :) I've already rewound the little 'balls' into little 'cakes' :D And another Lola skein from Gill at Woolly Workshop and Mission Falls Recollection. :)