 October 31, 2003
Happy Halloween!!
Happy Halloween from the little witch!
I can't take much credit for this costume, I took the pattern and material down to mums at the weekend and she got all excited and practically made the whole thing! I was chief assistant, cutting pieces, pinning and tacking stitches.. That meant that I got to knit more so it was a good trade. Dad cut down a broomstick to make a Brooke sized one and we attached the spider in place of a cat. I knew I'd forget something, as soon as she got dressed this morning (she's worn the costume to school) she said "where's the cat to sit on my broomstick?" Lucky that the spider was deemed acceptable. Here are some more photos of her witchy self, she had to wear a navy dress as her 3 year old wardrobe doesn't contain very much black! We made the skirt from some net attached to a waistband which ties at the back, this seemed most practical so that she could wear it over her dress. Do you like the scary witch face she is pulling in these pictures? Dont know about you but I'm scared.... We also spent a significant amount of time last night carving this pumpkin. Brooke drew the basic outline of where she wanted the eyes and mouth and I (attempted to) cut the shapes out. We don't really celebrate Halloween properly in the UK, I need lots more practise!
Posted by Kerrie at 09:14 AM
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October 30, 2003
Progress, progress, progress
Isn't it funny the difference you feel when you're working on a project that you really, really love? I started a sweater for Brooke in Phildar Fantasia and Rowan Big Wool earlier this month and although its OK to knit, for some reason its just not doing it for me.. I've finished the back, halfway up the front but seem to always find a million other things to do instead. This is how the back looks.
I'm making the pattern up as I go along. I cast on with Fantasia and then worked the rib in Big Wool before changing back to Fantasia for the body. Its going to be a very simple shaped sweater with set in sleeves and possibly a turtle neck if I have enough yarn left.. I really want to get this finished as this cold weather we are having would be perfect for it. Perhaps I'll knuckle down this weekend and get on with it. On the other hand I cast on for the Rebecca poncho on Tuesday night as I met Helen for a quick drink and hello at Liverpool Street (Hi Helen!) This is completely different, I just can't put it down!! I'm using 6.5mm circular needles and Patons Hip Hop yarn which is my all time favourite most perfect yarn ever. Did I mention that I love it? I don't know why they discontinued it, in my mind its the best to knit with.. I decided not to knit the pattern in the round - I prefer knitting straight. I'm also doing the increases differently as I noticed in the picture that they have you increasing in the middle of the pattern rows which throws the pattern off. No thank you! You start from the top and work 12cm in 2 x 2 rib for the neck and then begin the pattern and increase all the way to the bottom. Look what I did last night in front of the PC, what do you think? (excuse the curlieness!)
If I was brave enough I'd make a rule not to do any more on this until the Fantasia sweater is complete. We all know I'm not going to do that though don't we? Halloween witch photos tomorrow. I found out today that Brooke is allowed to dress up for school tomorrow so I'm off at lunchtime to find the finishing touches to her outfit. She's going to be a gorgeous witch!
Posted by Kerrie at 10:41 AM
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October 28, 2003
Weekend photos
Towards the end of last week I started to suffer from sinus problems. Anyone who has migraines or sinus headaches (to me they are both just as bad) will tell you that this sucks. On Saturday morning I woke up feeling really ill and spent most of the morning lazing around the house and sleeping. When it was time to drive to mum and dads in the afternoon I decided to catch some sleep in the back of the car with Brooke while Wayne drove. The plan was that a couple of painkillers plus some sleep might make me feel better. (it didn't work!)
An hour and a half later I woke to see mum peering through the window at us. Very funny.. Despite the headache, we had a great weekend. Lots of good knitting time. I finished the first Giboulees arm, mum has ripped out her cushion cover and started a scarf. Its pink and cream and very lovely. Think she's going to give it to dad for Christmas, shhh - don't tell him. It was also my grans birthday so we had a little party for her (complete with Barbie hats, napkins and plates. Hmmm, wonder who chose them?). She bought a knitting magazine for me and I handed over some yarn and a pattern for her to make a sweater for me. Sounds like a fair swap don't you think? Wayne and dad think its funny to laugh at those of us who knit. Wonder if dad will still be laughing when he sees this?
Yes, its true. The man that likes to laugh at my hobby can knit!! Who knew he was so talented? I didn't even have to teach him, just handed over the needles and yarn and off he went. He even commented that his tension was better than mums on the one row he knit for her. I think that deserves a score of 8 / 10, he dropped a couple of points for being proud that he had knit one line. Its a row, dad - if you're going to be a knitter, get it right!
Posted by Kerrie at 09:22 AM
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October 27, 2003
More scarves..
We spent the weekend with mum and dad, photos tomorrow, I've got some good ones for you!! I finished the first arm of the Giboulees sweater and confirmed that I'm not going to have enough yarn to finish the whole sweater. I used 5.5 skeins to get this far and I only have 10. :( I think what I'm going to do is to knit the next arm now and then wait until I arrive in Phildar land (only 38 days - see the counter on the left?) to decide how to finish the front. I'm thinking about turning the sweater into a cardigan with a zipper so if I can't get a skein of the same colour I'll add a contrast stripe up each side of the zipper. Here's another couple of scarf photos to share with you. This first one was made from 2 skeins of Phildar Irelande and I used simple stockinette stitch with a moss stitch border. Its the perfect size for wearing over the top of a suit for work. Next is a scarf made from Phildar Altitudes (dark purple) and Rowan Polar (lilac) I knew I didn't have enough of either yarn to make a scarf on its own so I striped them. I do like this one but it probably isn't something that I'd wear myself so into the sale pile it goes...
Posted by Kerrie at 07:28 AM
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October 25, 2003
Rebecca babies...
How cute are some of the patterns in the new Rebecca Kids and Babies magazine?? If I had to pick a favourite it would be this one.
Or maybe this...
Lucky old me received the magazine in the post this morning all the way from Germany. (thanks Alison!) Now there is no excuse for not catching up on my rusty German, I decided not to get the English translations this time. Its good for me to work from native Rebecca and Phildar magazines I think.
Posted by Kerrie at 08:31 AM
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October 24, 2003
Sleep? Who needs to sleep?
Especially when there are crazy on-line adventures to get involved with.. You know what? I don't think I have enough going on in my life right now. Really I don't. With the full time job, all the knitting, sewing, designing, being a mum - wife and housewife, and a couple of other relatively secret things that are going on I'm sure I have a couple of spare hours a day. After all I no longer have a wedding to plan so I don't know what I'm doing with all that spare time! So I decided to join NaNoWriMo - for those of you who didn't realise that November was National Novel Writing Month, the idea is that you write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November. Yes, you heard me. You do exactly what it says on the tin. Write a novel in a month. I've always talked about writing a book and this is my opportunity. (to go completely crazy that is!) As soon as I decided to go for this crazy idea I set up another blog to keep track of my writing progress. Its in my links list as book. Soon after setting this up I let Carolyn into the secret. Imagine my surprise when she decided to join me. Yes that's right, she's crazy too, and here is her book blog to prove it. More surprises to come when I received a comment on my new book blog that no-one knew about from Marrije who will be completing Nano in November for the third time. You can read all about her experience here. Finally, I mentioned to a colleague at work who has written a few novels in the past that I was thinking of signing up and he has done the same. So now I have 3 people around me to provide support and reassurance. I think I'm going to make it! So step up and give us all a round of applause why don't you. Or throw tomatoes and tell us we're all insane, I for one don't mind that! (This is my subtle way of telling you that when I post Novembers knitting list, don't be surprised if it is very short. And full of very simple knits. I'll have minimal knitting and thinking time!)
Posted by Kerrie at 12:10 PM
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October 23, 2003
Giboulees back
I managed to finish the back of the Giboulees sweater this week, here it is in all its curly bobblyness. I think I'm going to have problems with the bottom edge, look how curly it wants to be!
The raglan edges came out really nicely, I prefer the way the stitches look in this yarn over the Rowan Cork. I had to add a few cm to the length of the body (tall girl) but apart from that I followed the pattern exactly. My main worry now is that I'm going to run out of yarn. I have 10 skeins and used exactly 2.5 for the back. I know the front will be slighly less as the collar is lower but I'm worried about the raglan sleeves. I'll have to make them significantly longer than the pattern calls for and I just can't see myself having enough yarn. I've decided to work on a sleeve next and see. If I can complete it in 2.5 skeins or less then I'll be happy. Otherwise I'll have to wait until I visit Becky in December and try and get some more yarn then to finish off. Its going to be close.. Keep your fingers crossed for me..
Posted by Kerrie at 08:58 AM
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October 22, 2003
Rebecca sweater...
Happy Diwali!! Brooke goes to a very multicultural school where they took the decision to celebrate all of the religious days throughout the year. This is a great idea as it gives the kids the opportunity to learn about different religions, celebrate diversity and have lots of parties. I had to sign a consent form so that she could have a bindi (red dot) on her forehead in traditional fashion and she has gone off to school wearing her Belle from Beauty and the Beast dress, non uniform day means dressing up clothes to Brooke! Bless her... I finally got around to sewing in the ends on the fair-isle Rebecca sweater and took photos last night. It's still a little bit large for her but I like the way it looks, perfect winter oversized wear.
Probably needs jeans to go with it though don't you think? Here's another one of her jumping around in it.. Excuse the half done hair in these photos, we were in the middle of a complicated plaited pattern. She wanted lots of little cane row plaits that went along her head and then had loose ends all pulled up into bunches. It took over an hour (on and off) last night but looks gorgeous this morning. This is an action shot - half way through the plaits... Notice the fingers in the mouth from Brooke, this is her sleepy look. Not sure how we're going to get her out of that habit..
Posted by Kerrie at 10:18 AM
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October 21, 2003
Edit...
Whoops, it was only reading Carolyn's comment that made me realise that I forgot to mention that the spider is SEWED not knitted. I don't know how I could have missed such a vital piece of information. You only need very basic sewing skills, I hand stitched the whole thing. Honestly, its really simple to make. A handful of people have already emailed me about ordering a kit. If you want to change your mind now that you realise its not knitted just let me know. I'll reply to all the emails individually as well....
Posted by Kerrie at 05:34 PM
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Incy Wincey spider..
...ready for the witch. My weekend mission, to make a spider to go with Brooke's witches costume for Halloween. Meet Spud. (Brooke's choice of name BTW) The pieces for the witches costume are cut out, sewing will commence either tonight or tomorrow night. Can't wait to see it all finished..
What do you think? I love him! He was so simple to make and only took just over an hour. The googley eyes and big furry legs just make him seem so cuddly and soft. I used washable acrillyc yarn as stuffing and attached a piece of black elastic to the top of his body so that he can bounce. Brooke likes to hang him on the bannister at the bottom of the stairs and ping his elastic so that he bumps into the wall. Charming! His body is about 6 inches across and his long furry legs make him just that little bit bigger. I think he's the perfect scary spider.. A couple of friends saw him yesterday and promptly asked me to make some for their children. This persuaded me to extend the offer to you guys so here's the deal. A spider kit including instructions, stuffing, material, eyes and elastic for £7. Free postage and packing. A ready made spider for £12 again with no postage or packing. I'm happy to ship worldwide. All payment to be made using Paypal or for those of you in the UK, personal cheque will be fine. Send me an email if you want one and I'll get them out straight away.. Such a fun little toy to make and not just ideal for halloween either, I'm sure there are lots of little people out there just waiting for a big fat spider friend..
Posted by Kerrie at 08:15 AM
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October 18, 2003
Goodnight - and good weekend
Its very rare that I'm awake at this time of night, it may only be just past midnight but I'm an early to bed, late to rise kind of girl if I get my own way, this is quite unusual for me. Wayne and I have been out with some friends to a comedy club and when I left they were heading off to a nightclub. Its been a long week for me and I want to make sure I enjoy the whole day with brooke tomorrow without being too tired so off home to bed for me... I started the Giboulees sweater on the train this week, the yarn is so bobbly and fun to knit with. Even though the pattern is a little boring (who wants to knit in straight stocking stitch with only 1 increase row all the way up to the raglan shaping?) I think its going to be fun to knit. I'm only about 2 inches into it but its going to be good train knitting for a while, I'm in no rush with this one. Quick status update on the other projects for this month : Socks - given up. Again. This is the third time now. I think its time to accept that I am not a sock knitter and to give away the nice little stash of sock yarn that I've built up. Fantasia sweater. About halfway through the front (or back) Hope to pick this up again early next week. Scarf 6 - nearly done. Photos Monday. Sonnet - decided to use Rowan Wool Cotton for this one. Swatching at the weekend and starting as soon as the fantasia tank is finished. I'm considering making this a sleevless tank instead of a cardigan, have to wait and see how it turns out. Happy weekend guys..
Posted by Kerrie at 12:27 AM
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October 17, 2003
Scarf parade..
When I decided that I'd try and make 5 scarves this month I did wonder whether I was completely mad or if I'd manage to fit them all in. Well, 5 down and I'm halfway through my 6th now which is fantastic... You can keep track of the total number of scarves through the scarf tally list on the left hand side, many of them are destined to be sold at craft fairs, some will become Christmas presents and a couple will be kept for Brooke and I to wear... First scarf to be modelled here today is this Colinette Point 5 lacy scarf for Brooke. How cute??
This was made using less than 1 skein of Point 5 and a simple lacy pattern. She really likes it so I think I'll let her keep it for winter. Second scarf was made from a skein of Phildar Flamme 12 that I purchased from Ms Becky last month. Its similar to Rowan Biggy Print only a smaller gauge and a much better yardage which means it makes the perfect wear to work scarf. Scarves come in 2 categories for me. First is the wear at weekends scarves that can be long, funky and extra warm. Perfect for winter trips to the beach or the park where you know you want to keep snug. Second are the wear over suit but under jacket to work scarves. These need to be small enough so that you don't melt on the train but warm enough to keep your neck warm on the dash from station to office. That's what this one with its garter stitch border and stockinette stitch body is all about :
Third scarf is also made from Phildar Flamme 12 but knit sideways. Inspired by Alison's sideways scarves I cast on about 60 stitches with 10mm needles and worked about 6 rows in garter stitch before binding off and making a fringe with the leftovers. This one could fit into either of the 2 categories above, small enough for work and just about big enough for a "not so cold" day at the weekend.
(Did you spot Bless peeking out underneath this final scarf?) Tomorrow is a family day, we're going to see Finding Nemo at the cinema and maybe to the zoo / aquarium as well. I'm going to try and finish my 6th scarf this weekend so the 2nd stage of the scarf parade will be early next week. Also going to start the witches costume and FINISH MY COMPANY TAX RETURN. The deadline is Tuesday. No more excuses...
Posted by Kerrie at 09:01 AM
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October 16, 2003
Which Witch?
The lovely Silvia sent over a couple of patterns that she found for Haloween costumes. The witch one is fantastic, just what I need to turn the pile of spooky fabric I have at home into a 3 year olds witch costume. However, Brooke fell in love with the other pattern that Silvia included which was for princess dresses. I can see a day shopping for net and tulle in my future as ever since the patterns arrived on Saturday (not that many days ago you would think. It only feels that way when you have a 3 year old nagging you!) she has reminded me every couple of hours that I need to make her a witch suit and a fairy suit. Like I could forget that! Its nearly half way through the month. Don't you think I'd better get started on making this costume? (Yesterday's team profiling day at work was interesting... I've put some of the information that they psycho-psymetric testing showed about me in the next section in case anyone is interested...) The idea of the day was to work out how my level of management works together as a team and how our individual profiles fit into the bigger picture. This would hopefully be able to tell us what roles we were missing in the team and give us an idea about where our team strengths and weaknesses were. We had to fill out 2 questionnaires before attending the day and the most interesting results came from the Margerison McGan profile. I came out as a Creator-Innovator - the only one in our team. All of my results pointed to the fact that I was highly innovative (a score of 121 on an earlier test on a scale of 32 to 160 where the average population is 96) and creative. This is my comparison against a worldwide female sample of 52,000 people : Only 18 % of women in the sample are more extrovert than I am. So basically I came out as an extrovert, creative, flexible and beliefs orientated person. I have a 10 page book on all my characteristics (and from what I've read so far its all spot on) The only downside that I've come accross so far is that the trainer had a similar profile to me and he described himself as virtually unemployable due to the fact that his profile is so far removed from the rest of the population that he has trouble getting people to understand him. Sounds very familiar. It also explains why I was so happy at Enron for so long as they specifically recruited innovative people and created a highly innovative environment. All the freaky people together worked for me while it lasted!!!! Oh well..... It was a good day, much better than one in the office but not as good as a Saturday with Wayne and Brooke.
Posted by Kerrie at 09:01 AM
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October 15, 2003
Zipper
To answer Ruth's question, I think the reason that the zipper is a little curly is because it was slightly too long. This means that I had to stretch the knitted fabric a little bit in order for it to fit which left the zipper a little floppy. Where I've used zippers in the past that were a little too short or just the right length they seem to have been firmer.
Posted by Kerrie at 07:07 AM
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October 14, 2003
Aaah, Bless
Well I had a nice quiet half an hour sewing in Bless's zipper last night. I actually enjoy this process, pin the zipper and sew it up. Nice and relaxing. I chose a dark blue zip to contrast with the cardigan as I couldn't find one that matched well enough.
(I'm not sure what I was doing with my hands in this photo. It does look very odd though. I blame my photographer for wanting to go to bed at midnight instead of taking knitwear model shots. I knew I should have got him to say "to love, honour and enjoy all things knitting related dammit!) Here is a side view, it took me a couple of tries before I was happy with the raglan seams, I still don't think they are perfect but they are good enough for me to be happy with. The cardigan feels really comfy and warm, I can see it being worn a lot as a lining to my denim jacket. Gorgeous.. Anyway, here's the traditional list of stuff about knitting this cardigan : 1. The only changes I made to the pattern was the lengthen the sleeves so that they would fit me. Monkey arms mean that I needed to add over 10cm to ensure a perfect fit. 2. Rowan Cork knits up more quickly than I imagined. It looks like an aran weight yarn, knits to chunky gauge but feels lighter than air. Its definitely one of my favourite yarns to knit with. In fact I've got lots more to make some sweaters for Brooke. 3. Putting zippers into garments is my favourite form of closure. I don't get on with buttonholes.. 4. As per Claudia's rules, the neck was ripped out twice before I was happy with it. Funny how that always seems to happen isn't it? I'm at an offisite all day with work tomorrow so no knitting, blogging or emailing opportunities. Its going to be a sad day. Think I'll wear Bless with my jeans to cheer me up!
Posted by Kerrie at 07:56 PM
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October 13, 2003
Ally Pally
Phew, Ally Pally was exhausting on Saturday - but very, very successful. I took my mum with me for a few reasons... 1. I was planning to buy the yarn to make her Christmas present throws for her newly decorated living room and thought I'd let her choose the style of the throws and the yarn. 2. Its nice to spend a whole day on my own with her - that doesn't happen often! 3. Although she doesn't knit she does sew and is interested in all things crafty so I knew she'd enjoy it. 4. An extra pair of hands to carry bags... Bless him, Wayne thought that she would be a calming influence on me and that I'd be too embarrassed to buy lots of yarn in front of her. How wrong can one man be? The most interesting and unexpected result was that after about half an hour my mum was so excited at all the knitting stalls that she had bought herself some yarn and needles and was planning to relearn how to knit so that she could make herself a cushion to match the throws. Trust me, once she gets an idea into her head there is no stopping her and by the time dad picked her up that evening she was halfway through the first side of the cushion! Go mum.. (dad has decided that she's not allowed to come out on her own with me again. Apparantly I'm a bad influence!) She also has very expensive yarn tastes as we both fondled the Colinette yarns for ages and kept finding our way back there. I was disappointed that they didn't have their bargain bags this year and also that there were no special offers on the Rowan stand. Shame, I was looking forward to some bargains. I did buy 3 skeins of Colinette Graffiti to make something for myself and the Debbie Bliss number 6 book but that was about it. I was more excited about hunting out the yarn to make the throws for mum and encouraging her to start knitting again! When we got home and Brooke saw mum and I both knitting she climbed on my lap and asked me to teach her to knit. Of course I will.. Although I do think she's a little too young at only just 3 I'm not going to stop her. I'm planning to dig out some little needles and oddments of yarn and teach her this week. Just think, next time we go to mum and dad's for dinner all 3 of us can knit. Won't the men love that? I also made lots of progress on knitting projects this weekend. I finished and seamed Bless (yay) and also finished scarf number 4. Woo Hoo.. Tonight is earmarked for sewing zipper into Bless and redoing the raglan seams (which look a little wobbly). I might even be able to get photos tonight if I'm lucky and my photographer gets home from work on time..
Posted by Kerrie at 11:03 AM
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October 10, 2003
Photos
I know, I know. I promised you photos on Monday and here it is, nearly the end of the week and I'm only just delivering. Sorry about that! First here is the first Bless arm, I'm up to the raglan shaping on the second arm. I'm not going to have it ready to wear on Saturday which is a shame but I won't be far away. It might even be done at the weekend if I try hard enough! This is the Rowan Big Wool felted bag. Its about 9 inches along the top now which is a nice size. I'm still not sure what to do with it but I'm sure I'll think of something.. It feels more manageable than it did when it was huge and shapeless. Here's a sneak peak at the colour I used to line it with.. I'm going to bribe Brooke to wear the wrist and ankle warmers over the weekend so that I can post pictures, she's still not impressed with them though.. Children with opinions, its a scary thing to see! I'm off to Ally Pally tomorrow for the Knitting and Stitching show, I'm not planning to spend too much money but I know I won't be able to resist the Colinette bargains. I'll show you my purchases on Sunday. Have a good weekend...
Posted by Kerrie at 07:22 AM
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October 09, 2003
Ta Da!
Well done Alison who correctly guessed what yesterday's picture was of!! It was this fairisle sweater from Rebecca and Kids 16 - yay!! It will still be a little big for her this year but wearable. I do like the slightly oversized look so I'm happy for her to wear it. Just need to deal with those ends first, Alison and Leigh both offered to weave in the ends for me - little do they know how seriously I take those kinds of offers!! Anway, that was the answer to the first half of yesterday's question. The reason that it is relevant this week is because I'm planning to make the matching poncho as part of Alison's poncho-along. Isn't it gorgeous!!
I loved this at the time and wanted to make it and now I'm going to. Brooke even has similar Timberland boots as shown in the photo so I might have to take her to the beach and recreate the whole look when I've finished it. I'm planning to use Patons Hip Hop, this is a chunky weight yarn in cream, green, grey and 2 shades of pink. Its going to be gorgeous!! I am going to swatch it this month but can't justify starting it until 1st November. :( Lots of photos planned for tomorrow, can you wait?
Posted by Kerrie at 08:53 AM
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October 08, 2003
Mystery sweater...
You guys are so kind, thank you for all the get well wishes yesterday. I'm feeling much better today and am back in work (simply because I have 9 interviews today and I couldn't find anyone to step in for me) I'm sure I'll be in bed asleep again by 8pm tonight with Brooke!! Anyway, - before I show you all the photos from the weekend's productivity there's a little competition for you. I was sorting out Brooke's wardrobe at the weekend (summer clothes out and winter clothes in) when I found a sweater I started for her last summer. It was my first attempt at fairisle and it came out HUGE. As soon as I realised how large it was going to be (and how many ends there were to sew in) I packed it away and forgot about it until now.. This is a shot of the right side and this is the wrong side . See all those ends to weave? Any volunteers to do it for me? Anyway, a special prize to anyone who can remember me knitting that sweater and tell me where the pattern is from? There is another reason that its relevant to this week's posts which an extremely observant long time reader might pick up on.. Anyone like to guess? Answer to what it is and why its relevant tomorrow...
Posted by Kerrie at 08:55 AM
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October 07, 2003
blech
Just like Emma and Becky have been, I'm suffering from the effects of child who brings germs home from school. Brooke's nursery are sharing a stomach bug around at the moment and today is my turn. I can't remember the last time I felt this sick, so no photos or knitting today. Just bed and hot blackcurrent squash to drink... Its like being a kid again except I have to tuck myself in and stroke my own forehead!!
Posted by Kerrie at 09:58 AM
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October 06, 2003
Busy busy busy
I love to be busy and this weekend was no exception! I did so many crafty things my mind has boggled for the last 2 days. And as much as I love to be busy, I also love lists. So here is a list of all the busy things I did this weekend. 1. Finished the front and first sleeve of Bless. Apart from adding an extra 7cm to the length of the sleeve I still haven't made any changes to the pattern. (yes, OK - I have monkey length arms!!) Also started the 2nd sleeve, have just got past the moss stitch border. 2. Bought some witchy fabric to start thinking about Haloween costume. Still don't have pattern or accesories but at least I've started! 3. Finished the wristwarmers for Brooke. Photos later this week when I can persuade her to wear them. First impressions aren't looking good. She actually took them off and claimed that they were horrid. Hmm, is she getting to that age already? 4. Felted a Rowan Big Wool bag that I made last year and never foudn a use for. Also lined it with some material that Carolyn sent over to me. Photos later this week when I get round to taking some! This was the first time I'd felted anything and I can feel a felting craze coming one, I love the way it turned out. 5. Hemmed some curtains for Wayne's shed. Don't ask why he wants curtains in his shed, its a man thing! 6. Dyed some faded black trousers back to black again. This is something that my friend Mel suggested ages ago but I never got round to doing it. I'm glad that I found the time this weekend, I now have lovely black clothes again rather than slightly faded. 7. Finished 1 and a half of the ankle warmers. However I don't hold out much hope of these being successful due to the reaction to the wristwarmers. I might have to give them away... 8. Bought 4 skeins of Rowan Cork in Bug (bright yucky green) to make a sweater for Brooke. It was in the sale at 50% off and as much as I tried to push her towards the red or cream she insisted on the green. Personally I don't like the colour although I know that some other people have it in their stash. If Carolyn and Brooke ever meet up they can either wear their matching Bug sweaters or the prange and pink falaise ones. Twin alert... 9. Started Brooke's fantasia tank which has now become a fantasia sweater. I've added a skein of complimentary Rowan Big Wool which knits to a similar gauge so that she can have a sweater, its going to be a quick knit. Half an hour and I'm half way up the back already! Phew - that was hard work even to write the list. In addition there were lots of boring houseworky type things that I won't even begin to bore you with. My digital camera batteries are charging now so photos soon, can you wait?
Posted by Kerrie at 09:19 AM
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October 05, 2003
You gotta love the internet
I can't count how many good friends i've made through this site, I'm so lucky. Every day I get emails from people who I've never met before, talking about Brooke, knitting or other things that I happen to have posted about. Anyone who reads my comments regularly will notice that there are a few people who read here all the time who don't have sites of their own as well as a great circle of knitting bloggers. One of my regular visitors without her own site is Susan. Susan emailed me a photo of her daughter Frances wearing her version of my Missino Falls tank and agreed that I could post it here. Doesn't it look great? I love the bright contrasting colours she chose for it (and I'm sure her daughter does too!)
I've had a really productive weekend - lots to tell you about tomorrow and some photos to share. Right now its dinner time...
Posted by Kerrie at 03:56 PM
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October 03, 2003
Its Friday!
Now - I don't want to turn this into a David Blaine blog but I think its freaky enough to talk about again today. When we visited on Wednesday, we didn't see anyone throwing anything at him but the security has been stepped up since the drunken guy climbed the scaffolding and tried to cut his water tube the other week. Hee hee hee. The fine imposed for this was £1000. Seems like an expensive night out to me.. Anyway, enough of freaks hanging over the river! Lets talk ponchos... I saw Alison's poncho-along on her site when I got back from h oneymoon and resisted joining. You know i've got so many millions of things on the go at the moment that I wasn't sure I wanted to make a poncho. But then I was surfing aimlessly yesterday and I saw Maggie's little girl in her poncho - isn't that just the cutest picture you've ever seen?? So now I'm hooked. I'm going to be a copy cat and join the gang and make a poncho. Just need to find a pattern now... Talking of finding patterns, I'm going to make Brooke a witches costume for Haloween. Any idea where I can find a simple pattern to sew for a cape and hat? That's the challenge for this weekend. (after I finish 2 tax returns and Bless up to the first sleeve!)
Posted by Kerrie at 09:07 AM
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October 02, 2003
Schtuff...
I'm going to apologise now, this is a bit of a mixture of unrelated schtuff today. I'm not quite awake yet!! Progress on Bless is going well, I'm only a few rows from finishing the 2nd side of the front. I'd like to have it finished and ready to wear next Saturday when I go to the Knitting and Stitching show at Ally Pally. I've managed to persuade my mum to come with me for the day for a couple of reasons. Firstly I hope it will prevent me from buying too much yarn. Secondly I'm making her some throws for her newly decorated lounge and I thought she should have the chance to shop for the yarn herself. I'm really looking forward to the day, if only so that I can spend at least an hour fondling the yarns on the Colinette stall. I love those yarns! I was trawling through some photos this morning and found this one that shows Brooke with her special bridesmaid doll that my mum made for her.
Isn't it cute? The dress, hair and accesories were exactly the same as Brooke's bridesmaids outfit, she looked so cute carrying her around after she opened the box on the wedding day. She still sleeps with the pretty dolly in her bed at night, isn't that cute? Yesterday lunchtime some colleagues and I took a walk down to Tower Bridge to see David Blaine in his box. How wierd is that? He was just hanging there above a crowd of people, laying down and not really doing much. I don't know what I expected but I felt a little disappointed. He was fully clothed (not that I really expected him to be naked) and you couldn't tell whether he looked skinnier or not. I think he's about half way through his stint in the box (which looked a lot smaller in real life) so I'm sure he'll make it to the end. I think he's a little odd though. Freak or unique? You decide...
Posted by Kerrie at 09:16 AM
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October 01, 2003
List time!
Its that beginning of the month list time again!! I'm glad you all liked the Hip Hop hat, Brooke wore it to school this morning and looked so cute. (and her ears were warm!) I've got plenty of the yarn left over so I'm planning to make some wrist and leg / ankle warmers for her to match. How cute would that be? I decided to join Kristi's sonnet-a-long. I love the pattern and think that it might become a Christmas present for someone. Not sure which yarn to use yet, I need to search through my stash and swatch for it later. I'm thinking about some chunky Patons yarn that I've had for a long while, that might work. The cork sweater is moving along nicely, I'm halfway up the second half of the front now. The pattern is so easy to memorise and (shock horror) so far I haven't made any changes. I'm just knitting what the pattern tells me to and its coming out great. I think I'm going to have to lengthen the sleeves though, my arms are a little longer than most. But hopefully that will be the only pattern change...
Posted by Kerrie at 09:19 AM
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