Shetland shoulder shawl

This is as far as I've got with this so far - plus a few more rows since the photo was taken. Very pleased with the way it's knitting up, and I really like the Shetland wool and the natural looking colour.

Yet more socks.................

Yes, another pair LOL These are using up some of the ill-fated Freedom Spirit that refused to be knitted into any shape or form of jumper.............the rest is being put into a waistcoat fro me, and a hat for MrL, but I suspect I'll have enough for a hat for me too. These are for MrL.
I've had an invite to join the Sockamania group, so looking forward to getting involved with that.

Shame I've only got two feet.....LOL
This weekend, I've dishcloths to catch up on, a bit more ont eh waistcoat, and start the middle of the Shetland shawl. This one is done in a lovely fawny shade of brown, to replace the one I started in cotton, which I wasn't happy about. I've completed the border, so need to find my right sized circular and get the 300+ stitches up and running. I spent an hour or so spinning more of the Jacob for MrL's scarf too, so that's nearing the casting on point. Bit late in the year, but at least he'll be ready for autumn!
Also on the list is the Knitty nightcap for a bit of historical interest.

Tomorrow is Guild day, so I have masses of paperwork to organise for that, list of things to take and not be forgotten; wonder if there'll be any bargains ont eh sales table/ I'm sure I'll find something............

I ordered some Koolaid for dyeing yesterday, and a heap of seeds for getting my long-awaited dye garden off the ground (into the ground?); I was also thrilled to bits to find a purchasable pattern for Elizabeth Zimmerman's Surprise jacket - one in childrens' size, one in adult size, so they should be with me shortly. I've a notion they will suit the Kauni yarns very well, so that's probably on the cards.

Really enjoying ravelry too - I have a large queue now! It's great to be in among such enthusiastic knitters with such imagination. Some of the stuff coming out of America especially is so inspiring, and people are very generous with sharing aptterns, information, advice etc. Great fun, I spend a lot of time, there (knitting whilst browsing, ofcourse:) )

Where did you knit yesterday?

This is the beautiful place I spent an hour knitting a sock in yesterday - the monks' herb garden at Beaulieu Abbey. Very restful, almost deserted, great thinking and knitting time. (I also got a huge amount done on the way to Beaulieu and back in the car..............MrL almost has another pair of socks now!)

Made a nice change to be out knitting in the fresh air again.

Kauni socks finished

- and I still have part of a ball left LOL

This is fabulous!

Have a look here, at Franklin's blog; as well as the highly entertaining and thought=provoking Franklin, take a look at the Redress post. Wish I was nearer......

http://the-panopticon.blogspot.com/2009/02/redress.html

The joy of grafting

I've been knitting socks for more years than I care to remember now, but this is the first successful grafting I've done on the toe. I did try several years ago, but was unsuccessful due to a set of badly written instructions which put me off a bit. I found some good, clear instructions in my Fab Feet and Cosy Toes book, where the ripple sock pattern comes from that I'm working on. Very pleased to have mastered it now, and the finish is good.

second sock cast on and started this morning...........:)

New socks

I cast these on last night, whilst failing to understand any of a TV programme on nuclear fission that MrL and EJ were watching....................LOL

It's the remainder of teh Kauni fromt eh shawl, for a "pair" of socks; they won't match ofcourse, but it'll be interesting to see how they turn out.

One side of the poppies waistcoat is done too, I'm just hoping I have enough of the red for the other side, else I'll have to order another ball. Two cloths and two days of KAL rows to catch up on too.

Revontuli shawl finished

Here it is, and I'm thrilled to bits with it. It's a really nice pattern and I've a notion to make at least one more!

Historical knitting

I've recently got interested in historical kntting, especially replica knitting. I got really fired up by some of the posts in the groups on Ravelry too. I'm hoping in the near future to actually do some knitting for re-enactors, if things go according to plan. I've compartmentalised my blogging a bit more and have come up with a separate blog for the historical knitting here:

http://mrsl-knitten.blogspot.com/

You'll find the Gunnister purse on there, as well as one of my Monmouth hats.

Hurray!

The ball of Kauni has arrived, so just need to jig it along to the right place in the colour changes and should get it finished tonight. Happy day. :)

Cr*p

- ran out of Kauni wool for the Revontuli.........................:( With about 12 rows or so to go too, so I've had to stop. Oh yes, and order some more. Sadly - hahaha - they didn't have the smallest amount in stock, so when it arrives and I get the shawl finished, there should be enough left over to knit a small something. I reckon it should full well, and in those colours, look good, but I might just knit something, we'll see.
So, in the absence of Revontuli action, I did quite a bit more on the Maja shawl, and got a good way into a Gunnister Purse replica, another one I've been after doing for a long time. Will postpics later, I hope to get it finished today.
More later on historical knitting, got a bit of exciting news, but will reprt back nearer the time.:)

International Year of Natural Fibres

Lots of interesting stuff here:

http://www.naturalfibres2009.org/en/index.html

There's more to knitting than just wool and needles............

This is how the Revontuli shawl looked last night, just after midnight - aother late night on the needles.

Knitting associations

When I say knitting associations, I don't mean it in a literal sense, more that what comes off my needles often is associated evermore with the events that are happening at the time I was working on a particular project.

I recently knitted a Cold Mountain hat; I played the soundtrack whilst spinning a gorgeous bright pink wool, then knitted it up. My brown Maja shawl is the Victorian Farm shawl - I started it whilst watching that. The Revontuli is my Witness shawl - I caught up on that film when I started knitting for the KAL on Sunday.

Conversely, some things inevitably end up with not so good associations; in the past there have been things I have made that I won't wear or use as they have a bad feeling about them. I disosoe of them in various ways. Sometimes all it takes is to take the whole thing apart and re-make it into something else. Other times, the object has to be removed form the house altogether.

Strange, isn't it? :)

Revontuli shawl

Yesterday was the start date for the shawl KAL on Ravelry, so I sat down and cast on and off I went! I don't do a lot from charts,but probably will now I've decided I quite like them LOL. Took me five attempts to get the pattern set, but was easy from there, once the mains titches were in place and the RH and LH incs sorted out. The wool is lovely to knit with, and I kept on knitting until after midnight just to see the colour changes; watched the film Witness too, so this will be associated with that form now on. I'm just under a third of the way through I think, and it's time to get on to a circulat needle. Knits up quickly, so I should get it done fairly soon I hope, whilst cracking on with all the other WIPS ofcourse ;)

My new picture

Believe it or not, I found this little treasure at the tip!! It show two Irish girls with shawls, both beautiful pieces of craftmanship. Tehre is some writing on the back of the mount which I can investigate further to try and date the photo and find out more about it. It's quite big, full colour and in good condition. I left its frame behind as it didn;t do it any favours, so will have a look around for a really nice one for it.

I fell in love with the clothes, and teh boots too. Wrong century, me...............

What more could a man want?

Than two of his very own personal dishcloths for washing up? LOL Tehse are to be wrapped up for MrL's Vaentine Day present this year, so he can have his own cloths for washing up on a Saturday night :). The red one is an all over hearts pattern; the green one says "kiss me" above a pair of pouting lips. Brilliant - he'll hate me for it

I knew I would.................

LOL I did it - I cast on the maja shawl last night, but as I said, I knew I would. The pattern is Maja from Knitty winter 2008, with a lovely generous cross over design. Knits up quickly, and an easy pattern to catch on to. Nice and portable on a circular too, so can carry about with me when I go out.Wool is slightly rougher to the touch than I expected, but should soften up with a wash and use. It's going to be a warm one.......................:)

My lovely wool winder

Meet my rather lovely wool winder......................... :) I bought it at the Guild for only 50p. I was given an old wooden one many eyars ago, but it was, sadly, beyond repair. I then took a notion to make myself one, and found lots of projects on the net, but never got around to it. In the meantime, this turned up, so this is now being used, and I love it. The box seems original, and judging from the photo on the enclsoed leaflet, it dates from the 30s. It all folds down to a very small size, easy to store, and Bean and MrL grateful for not having to do the arm thing any more LOL - although I have used the back of chairs before, and my own feet.........................

It really makes winding a doddle! The wool on it at the moment is a very beauiful shade of chestnut, bought a couple of eyars ago in a charity shop in Broadstone, pure Shetland wool, for 3.95 for a large number of skeins, destined for a shawl whose pattern I found on the internet somewhere. I want to get it on the needles today, but I've so much else to do.........................

............. so I probably will :)

Felted slippers

I've been wanting to make a pair of these for a long time, but never found a pattern that made me dash off to the stash and forego the housework for (another) day!! LOL. I did, however, find a pattern on Ravelry, so am having a go with it. I have a bag of various rovings I needed to use up; I'll keep the white ones for rugging on teh peg loom I think, but the dark grey/blue etc I've used for this. Unspun,it's very quick to knit and I've popped in flashes of colour too. I'll hand full them when they're done, rather than the machine, so I can keep an eye on the process. It's nice to have a bit of quirkiness amongst the serious knitting! I seem to have joined a tea-themed dishcloth KAL for February too, on Ravelry. It really sucks you in, that site :)

Poppies waistcoat

Finally - I'm pleased with progressusing the Twilley's Freedom Spirit I bought last year; it started out as a jumper for MrL, but after 3 attempts at a patently *wrong* pattern for a saddle shoulder jumper, I gave up; two more attempts with another pattern and then my own were unsuccessful too, so it got frogged and put away. Many yers ago I made one of Kaffe Fassett's poppy waistcoats, using his technique of tying lots of yarns together, but colour co-ordinated. I added in the three balls of red I got teh other day and am now half way up teh back, and it's looking good. Talk about a phoenix LOL

Cloth of the week

I joined this group near to the end of January, so had 4 to catch up on, and now I've done it! I've no idea what I'm going to do with all these cloths; I do another KAL one, which produces another two a month.....................:)