So, urm... aherm! (cough! cough!)

Yeah. This regular blogging thing has kinda gone off the rails lately. What can I say, I've been a busy busy bee, and what little free time I have seems to be spent nowhere next nigh or near my computer!

But I've been missing you lovely people terribly (no, really!), and, given that I've a whole actual DAY OFF today that has, for a change, not been steamrollered by my need to attend some ridiculously early-in-the-morning, takes-up-most-of-the-day hospital appointment, I thought I'd start the day in style by writing a blogpost!

(Okay, so obviously the day actually started with a rather large pot of coffee, and some nommy scones and jam, but as I'm sure you'll all understand, this was just to safeguard my sunny diposition. I could not be inflicting myself on other people sans caffeine. Ooh no).

So anyway. What's been keeping me from my computer? Well, work, mostly. You understand of course that in this case, the word 'work' is more of a relative term. I get up every day, and get dressed (might be taken as a given in most households, but on my planet over the last four years, there were a LOT of days when that didn't happen!).

So actual proper clothes, not pyjamas. Then I get on the train, all the way into town, and, often making a slight detour en route to acquire muffins, I arrive in work. Where there is yarn. And coffee. And yarn. And smiley happy work colleagues. And customers who actually WANT me to foist yarn on them, and who don't get freaked out when we're all making 'oooh' noises while petting the latest yarny arrivals. Oh yeah, and there's yarn. Did I mention the yarn?

So yeah, life, while very busy, is damn good at the moment! >happy sigh!<

I have started to notice a couple of dents in this idyllic existence, though. First up, this working thing? REALLY cuts into your knitting time! (I know, I know, who'd have thought it?). Though trust me, I have been doing my bestest to compensate! There is plenty of knitting on the go here at the moment, though I only realised this morning that it seems to involve rather large quantities of just knitting, as opposed to the rather large quantities of yarn-overs-in-every-available-space items that I usually produce!

This, I have decided, is a very good thing. I loves my lace. I have whole projects set aside that are going to be my fun-for-me Christmas knitting, and they're all (well, mostly) lace. However, as a result, I had long neglected the beauty of some straightforward stockinette, and the beautiful, drapey-yet-structured fabric it can give you. I had also really missed out on good old garter stitch, and it's comforting squooshiness, and how it can showcase a yarn and it's qualities and colours like no other stitch.

So in the current WIP parade (which is becoming an even bigger-ass parade with each passing day), there is a lot of stockinette and garter... though at least the project below will eventually turn a little lacy at the edge, and in a totally different colour! The excitement!

See? See that? See me getting all excited about using more than one colour yarn in my knitting? Well brace yourselves...

Garter stitch AND stripes! And that's not even the best bit....

Short. Row. Shaping. A technique that I had never managed to execute effectively and that, consequently, scared the bejaysus out of me. Nothing was guaranteed to make me run screaming away from a pattern quicker than the words 'short row shaping'. Until I met Colour Affection. And started spending copious amounts of my day faced with a rather large cubby of Malabrigo Sock. Nom nom nom. Of course, I am only human, and was powerless to resist, and sure who could blame me?

To keep me sane and calm, I also started a second Cladonia. As I mentioned in my last post, I liked the first one so much that I had pretty much acquired new stash almost immediately, so's I could do a second one! More stripes (check me out with the two colours!), more stockinette, with a little lacey interest to keep me going to the edges...

Obviously this is again being knit with some nice nice nice smoooooshy Finito nom nom nom nom...

If you haven't knit with it yet, you really should. Really really. You deserve it.

And of course, speaking of yarns to which I am partial, we all know what one of my all-time favourite yarns would be... so you can just imagine how excited I got when a whole new shipment of my babies came home, and some of them even in new colourways! Whole new colourways! I can barely stand it! :oD

Of course, I would not be a very good yarn store employee if I did not make a little time to, urm, test-knit these new acquisitions, just to ensure that they are all indeed of the impeccably high standards we demand for our esteemed clientele. Aherm.

(Almost had myself convinced there. Yes, I did it all for the customer. Nothing at all to do with my reaction to the delivery box when it came into the shop (which may or may not have involved some bouncing and some high-pitched 'yay!'s. Freaked the crap out of the poor delivery guy), or the way I flung myself at it going "NO! MY BOX! I'M OPENING THIS BOX! MINE!!" Nothing at all to do with that. It's all about the customer. Epitome of professionalism, me).

Anyway, given the reaction to the last cowl I made from Botany Lace, I have decided that a second one may be required...

...Boingy Boingy, Version 2.0! Isn't it purty? (And okay, so Jacqui decided that a second one would be required. And that it should be done in this colourway. She was so right! So I'm just knitting it!). ;o)

Obviously though, given the vast number of WIPs I currently have on the go (about 20. Ish), it may be a while before any of these are completely and utterly done. Of course, you will be the first to know when they are!

There has been other knitting, and other nommy yarns, and fun things happening, but if I save some stuff for a future blogpost, I'm hoping that that'll make me commit to actually doing another post again some time real soon!

So that just leaves the other dent I had noticed in my otherwise idyllic existence...

Remember The Plan? The Plan that involved me knitting loads of things from the pretty pretty yarn that I already owned and did not in any way shape or form involve me contributing or adding to the humongous stash I already owned over the course of 2012?

Yeah. Hahahaha. Well, let's just say that working in a yarn store is not at all conducive to cutting down on one's stash. At all. Please don't judge me though, just bear in mind that I'm doing it all for you. It is apparently my life's mission to knit all the yarns so that I may more accurately advise you in your yarny purchases.

No, really. >cough! cough!<

:o)

No honest, I really AM still here!

Woah, it's been a while!

Ever noticed how when things get busy, the time just seems to ZOOOM past when you're not really looking? Earlier this year I said that I would be posting at least once a week. I was kinda okay with that schedule, though admittedly there was the odd "week" here and there that had more of a "ten days" kind of look about it!

Anyway. I got busy. And busy in the bestest way!

After four long-ass years of being all really sick and things being ikky and stuff, I got a couple of "all clear" reports from my multiple doctors a couple of months back. YAY!! Lots of relief! Best bit? That's just the first YAY!!, read on!

So that meant I could finally start sniffing around for one of those job thingies I'd heard so much about, but hadn't managed to hold down in, urm, ooh about four years or so. Which could have been not too nice at all. Because while I was really desperately looking forward to getting back to work, there was also the not-insignificant fear of (a) crappy economy and (b) who the hell is going to hire someone who has been too sick to work for FOUR YEARS regardless of what the docs may say? Heh. This was going to be interesting.

But it turned out that my timing was impeccable (i.e. I am a completely and utterly jammy b*tch), in terms of certain places needing a certain kind of staff at that exact right moment. So guess who now works in her LYS? Where she'd been spending a rather large portion of her "hey, I can move today!" time anyway? YAAAAY!!!

So yeah, it's a lot of fun. And really busy. Busy in a very good way. I get to talk about knitting all day long, and in this context that is a very good thing (as opposed to the "please stop talking about your feckin knitting" very bad thing that it can sometimes be perceived to be. Y'know, when I'm not at WORK)!

The result of this has been very little downtime to do other stuff like, ooh, I dunno, blogposts. I'm sure you understand though! Throw in there that for two weeks I was also off dog-sitting in a house with no computer (no, I don't understand that either), so that didn't do much to boost your chances of a post either! (The dogs were fun though. More on them another time).

But anyway, now I'm back. Last time I promised you some recaps of different things, but I'm just going to give a brief rundown of some yarn/knitting stuff (with pictures. I know you're just really tuning in for the pictures!), just to give you your fix and get me back into the "how to concoct a blogpost" mindset.

So what have I been knitting? First up was a wedding shawl for a special friend not in Ireland any more (>sniffle!<). I have no decent pics to show of this as yet, but as soon as I do I'll share them. Trust me though, it's pretty. Really pretty! And most importantly it made it to the bride in time for the big day, and she looked stunning!

Immediately after completeing this, I dived in to the fantabulous birthday yarn that I had acquired at the WWKIP Day.

First up, there was some Malabrigo Finito. If you have not knit with this stuff, you really should. Really really really. Life is just too short to NOT knit with it! Really. Knit it now. NOW!!

Aherm. Anyway. I picked me my pretty pretty colours,

Natural and Azules. Very pretty. And a big shout-out THANK YOU to bunnyt for the softest birthday pressie EVER. It's just so smooshie, has to be groped to be believed! And thank you for making me get the Natural one too!

(I wasn't going to do it stripey, but she made me do it. No choice at all. She's a little scary when insistent. But in a good way. Because she's usually right!).

(And yes, my heart does still very much belong to Botany Lace. It just turns out that I now own most of the colours!)

So anyway, my Finito goodness very rapidly became this...

Isn't it pretty? Cladonia, knit as written, except for the edging, which I didn't really like, so I went for a picot bind-off instead...

Nom nom nom. It's nommy.

(So of course, having found a pattern I like, I will of course be doing a second one! New stash has been acquired, so stay tuned!)

There was also hot chocolate and lemon meringue cake, and later there was beer, and chatting, and knitting, so it was, really, pretty much, the absolutely most perfect birthday ever!

But this was not the last of the birthday yarny goodness. Ooh no. There was this one particular skein of one particular yarn that I have been coveting for, oh, quite some time now. I would occasionally visit it in the shop and stroke it and whisper to it (nothing too overt you understand, just stuff like 'someday you will be mine. ALL mine!'. Nothing that would freak out the yarn or anything. Ooh, no).

Anyway. There were those who were aware of this prolonged and unrequited love of mine, and one of them decided to put me out of my misery...

...and now it's mine! ALL mine! Thank you jewelan'darlin'! Happy birthday to ME!! Yay! I keep taking this out of its safe place, just to gaze at it and stroke it a little, then I put it safely back to bed. Still can't quite believe it's mine! Someday I shall indeed be knitting it into something wonderful, wonderful indeed...

But not just yet. First we have the Ravellenic Games to be getting on with. For those of you unaware, it basically involves setting yourself a challenge, which you cannot commence until the Olympic Flame is lit. You then have to have it completely knitted/finished/done by the time the flame goes out just over two weeks later. It's fun! And a little crazy, but mostly FUN!

The Ravellenics commenced in the shop last Friday, with Jacqui lighting the flame (and maybe possibly running a lap around the shop and balcony, but we won't mention that!) and getting our Games underway. Our team mascot José (complete with headband) is standing guard beside our flame. TeamTIK2012 will be posting FO pictures as we go (on the board that's also being guarded by José. We're keeping him busy). José will also be encouraging us as we go, so make sure to follow him at @Don_JoseTIK, let him know how you're getting on!

Otherwise he'll get all lonely and think people aren't talking to him. And working with him, it gets really difficult to stay on your game when you've a really sad little baby alpaca staring at you all day long...

:o)

Yes, still here...

It has been in the back of my head somewhere for the last while that 'yeah, I must do a blog post, it's been a while', but I genuinely didn't realise just how long it had been until I checked over the weekend. And nearly gave myself a heart-attack.

So I'm sitting here now, (1:30am, for those not on GMT), wondering what to write? Thinking of how I have neglected you all, and how bad I feel about that (okay, not REALLY bad, but a little), and what have I finished knitting since last we spoke, and what have I been meaning to tell you about, and, and, and...

Deep breath. There's a bit. And I won't get everything in on this post. I'm kinda sleepy.

Anyway. First up, last time we spoke I was on holidays with my Botany Lace. Botany Lace was thirsty and encouraged me to have a little beer too. Just a little though, I don't knit drunk.

Well anyway, me and Botany Lace came back from holidays, to absolutely beautiful weather. So I posed it for its FO pic...

Obviously it still needed beer, as it was hot weather and stuff. Seas Shawl by Suzy Crancer.

(And yes, that's actual Duff beer, as seen on The Simpsons! Just the one bottle brought home, it probably tastes like crap, but we'll never know. It's still unopened, sitting on display in the kitchen, and no-one wants to mess with it. Ornamental beer, basically).

I have, of course, stocked up on some more Botany Lace since last we spoke (well duh, like we didn't see that coming), but I'll save that for another post. Because the colours are possibly the nommiest of all the nommy yarn I've acquired to date. Possibly. Nom. 

Anyhoo, I digress.

Next up, I finished this...

...which was a long-awaited requested knit with a looming deadline, that, even though I can do it with my eyes closed, I still managed to screw up completely and utterly, and repeatedly, in the last ten rows. Oh, and then I ran out of yarn half-way through the LAST ROW.

Cue a very panicked visit to The Constant Knitter, where I discovered, to my horror, that this particular colourway was aaalllll gone. NOOOO!!! However, Rosemary absolutely saved my ass on this one, by giving me some of the same yarn in a different, contrasting colourway...

...which really works, I think! Makes it look all sophistimicated and stuff. Like piping. I love it! :o) Thank you, Rosemary!

So it was wrapped up all pretty and dispatched with my father on Saturday morning last as he headed down home for the weekend. The recipient is away at the mo and won't receive it til tomorrow, but fingers crossed she likes it.

(And yes, I have checked with my dad more than once that no, he didn't lose it/accidentally destroy it/give it to the dog to sleep on/forget to pack it/set it on fire. He knows his fresh home-made brown bread supply will dry up fairly sharpish if he screws this one up).

Then there was this one...

Yes, I know. Another beaded Swallowtail! But they're just sooo pretty, and at this stage (this is my seventh, I think) fairly bloody fast!

The beads in this are Swarovski crystals. I've been planning this project for a while, so basically I've been acquiring the beads about 5 at a time, since January. Yes, the beads cost me WAY more than the yarn! But I happen to think they're worth it...

Really sparkly and twinkly. Funny thing is, I alternated the colours between clear crystals and ones with just a hint of aqua. However, once I'd put them on the yarn, I could no longer tell the difference between them, at all! Which is just as well, as I think I may have screwed up the sequencing more than once.

FYI, the pattern as written uses 208 beads in total. I have received a LOT of queries regarding beading in general and Swallowtails in particular, so I'll do a separate post on that in the very near future.

So coming soon to a monitor near you... a post all about slapping beads onto your knitting. And one on my latest Botany Lace acquisitions. Also a post on what happens when your brothers figure out that your knitting can possibly mean them getting stuff made for them (hint: varying degrees of success on this one, to be fair). Also what happens when you drag your dad into your LYS for the first time (hint: my dad swears a bit. Sometimes loudly). And what happens when WWKIP Day coincides with your actual birthday (hint: I have added to the stash, but not entirely my fault. Teaser: it's NOT Botany Lace).

But, as it's now 02:21 (yes, it took me THAT LONG to do a post!), I'll just leave you with this...

Yes, I rock. I knew that. It just turns out that I rock really, REALLY slowly! ;o)

Holidays

Okay, I know I said I wouldn´t be online at all this week, but it´s just SO HOT here that I had to take refuge in a nearby internet cafe. And of course, I knew you´d all be very worried and stuff, hoping that I was okay. I know. I understand.

Well anyway, apart from being in imminent danger of completely melting away (did I mention just how ridiculously HOT it is here?), me and my Botany Lace are doing okay...

This knitting-in-the-sun thing is thirsty work, I'm telling ya...

:o)

Icarus

So we've all hit that point where we get complacent  in our knitting, right? We think 'yeah, I know how to do that, I'll just wing it from here, who needs a pattern?'. Right?

C'mon, I KNOW it's not just me!

Anyway. I had a fantabulous skein of Malabrigo Sock...

...that I was going to turn into an Ashton shawlette. But after a lot of build-up and excitement (saving it as a 'special reward' knit - why do I do this to myself?), it just wasn't working, the colours were almost too variegated for the pattern. So I frogged it. :o(

I decided that a nice stockinette shawlette with a pretty edging was the way to go. I've done a few of them, but didn't want to do another Holden just yet, so thought I'd improvise. How hard could it be? Pick a nice edging off one of the shawls I've knitted, work stockinette til I'd the right multiple of stitches, then knit on. Right?

Well, urm...

...maybe not! Crash. And. BURN!

Stuff I learned from this...

(a) tempting Fate by using phrases like 'winging it' and 'ethereal' is not a good move. Fate is sometimes paying attention.
(b) not enough stockinette
(c) too much edging
(d) yarn is not quite as variegated as I thought, so maybe my original pattern choice was correct.

The edging is a modified version of Ethereal, a beautifully spectacular yet simply intuitive pattern. Pretty, yes. But too much here, I think.

However, I haven't frogged it. Yet. Cuz I has options. So what do I do now?

(a) redo above. More stockinette, less edging
(b) stick with original pattern choice. Knit Ashton.

Help? Please? Seriously need help on this one, as I'm beyond the point of making a decision for myself!

In other news...

1. I'll be AWOL for the coming week and not back at a computer til next weekend, so there will be no blogging or tweeting in the interim. My Botany Lace has been very good to me, so I'm bringing it on holidays! Yay!

2. Birthday greetings to two of my favouritest peeps, T.Bunny and Whirl123. Sorry I'm missing the shenanigans, but, y'know, holidays and crap. :o(

3. For those who are curious, no, neither myself nor Rubysasha are actually insane, we're just highly imaginative creative types! Following a clip on the Ellen show, we got to wondering how a nice alpaca hat could be made so sparkly, and decided it had to be because the alpaca had been cross-bred with a unicorn. Hence 'unipaca'. 'Alpacorn' sounds like something you eat, and while 'unipaca' evokes thoughts of 'unabomber' in this particular knitter's brain, it's probably because I spend far too long in front of the Crime & Investigation channel while knitting!

Anyway... this fibre has all kinds of amazing powers (waterproof, adapts to size, autocorrects lace knitting errors). Neither of us can spin, but to be honest, we have other hurdles to cross first. Though we have, at least, secured my brother's services as a unipaca herder. Baby steps, people, baby steps. Magical fibre someday. Maybe. Here's hoping!

So on that magical note, I shall bid you all adieu for the moment. Hopefully by the time I next talk to you, I'll have another Botany Lace FO. And maybe a touch of a suntan (though probably not. I'm a Factor 50 girl, all the way. I'll definitely have more freckles, though!).

Toodles!

The monotony of persistence

First things first. Some FOs I've been promising for a while...

First up is my Summer Flies, made out of Kidsilk Haze Stripe. Wasn't sure how the striping would work out, but the stripes fell very nicely on the pattern I think...

Pretty, no?  This one was finished a while ago (beginning of last month), and was a bit of a soul-destroyer, but I can tell you more about that another day. Tired now, and buckets to do yet, and seriously, where the hell did this day go?!?

Anyway, second was that fabulous Baby Silkpaca Lace I acquired a couple of weeks ago. I decided to try to break the obviously very clearly established pattern by knitting with it almost immediately. Into a Swallowtail. Yes, I know that's my sixth one. But I'll be honest, I loved this yarn, wanted it to be pretty, did NOT want to be chancing it on a pattern I wasn't familiar with and dreading the possibility of running out of yarn.

So it became this...

Please note that even though the sun was shining in, my faulty (really old) camera will not let me decide for myself whether or not I want the flash to, y'know, FLASH all over everything. The colours aren't as flat in real life, and the little beads are WAY more twinkly, don't look as dead or harsh against the yarn as they do here. Honest!

It's really pretty, if a little smaller than I was expecting. I've worked this pattern A LOT, but it's never come out this small. I know the silk in it is going to limit the stretch, and I'm fine with that, as it also makes it look pretty, and easier to put the beads on! It's a plenty-big shawlette, and I love it.

The only problem? Leftovers. I hates leftovers, and I have a LOT of them here (more than 10g, i.e. more than 20% of my total yarn). I'm guessing I may even have had enough for another bunch of budding lace rows to lengthen the thing. Ah well, I'll know next time! Question now, of course, is what to do with 10-15g of exquisite laceweight? Huh? Huh?

So after all that finishing of WIPs, I thought I'd try to be a good girl this week (well, as good as this girl can be. Turns out I have my limits) and work on a couple of things...

(a) I would NOT buy any more new stash this week at least (that decision was completely taken out of my hands by the fact that I do not have disposable income at the mo. A good thing, as I tend to spend it on yarn).

(Seriously though, when you find yourself stopping in the middle of your big grocery shop thinking 'but if I just skipped dinner on Thursday and Friday, I could buy a skein or two of such-and-such. Rice Krispies are okay for dinner, right?' you need to make your way very quickly to the nearest checkout, get your precious food out of there and home, and then and only then are you to permit yourself to even THINK about knitting again!

Close one. Skipping meals, in general, is never a good idea. When you throw in that this knitter is also an insulin-dependent diabetic, and that skipping afore-mentioned meal could leave her, quite literally, dead, then you can see it is NEVER a good idea to trade yarn for essentials. Well, other essentials).

(And yet, even with that crystal-clear, simple, life-or-death choice ahead of me, I still found myself thinking about the yarn. Really not sure that this is a positive development in my character).

Anyhoo...  

(b) knit like crazy to clear some of my current WIPs, so as I can start on the other projects in my queue.

(See above (i.e. Malabrigo Swallowtail). Also the third installment of my Botany Lace obsession is blocking as we speak, so that's done too).

This whole ''2012 is my year of the Stashdown AND the WIPdown'' thing isn't going at all according to plan. I will do a proper 'review' of the carnage to date in June, as it's the mid-way point, and as good a point as any to draw attention to my absolute lack of forward motion (while also, hopefully, theoretically, giving me the kick up the backside required to take control of things once again).

Ya see, it had all started out with my lining up the yarns I had. I then matched them to projects that were on my queue, then arranged my queue accordingly. Good basis, right? A project for everything, every project in its place?

Unfortunately, that 'pattern' tab on Ravelry is like my own personal rabbit-hole. Once I dive down there, I may not be seen for days. Of course, new patterns are going to be added to the queue. New patterns are being added to Ravelry all the time. I have even gone so far as to commit myself to some of them by actually printing them out. And making sure I've the needles.

Not all of these patterns have matching yarns in my stash. Which sometimes results in yarn being 'diverted' from a different project (Ooh, and leaving a poor, abandoned pattern, needing a yarn... well, I may just HAVE to go buy some so!).

Yeah, the plan is getting its arse kicked. I could be wrong (but in this case I doubt it), but I think my original plan was FAR too overreaching. So should I panic? I think not. And why, you may ask, with your plans in tatters, knitting all around you, do you not feel a total failure?

I'll be honest, I really really don't. I have a LOT of knitting here, and I'm getting to it. Honest. In my own way, in my own time. My plan was stupid, because it did not factor in that the person who'd be doing the knitting was me, and apparently I don't know me very well! We shall reassess next month, and give a more formal overview of progress, but I'm good.

No such thing as failure here. Why?  

Because knitting is a hobby!! It's SUPPOSED to be FUN and ENJOYABLE!!

The second it stops being any of these things for you, STOP. We've enough sources of pressure coming at us from all other areas in life, so why the hell would we be pressuring ourselves with our hobbies?

Go enjoy your knitting, people!

So if you'll excuse me, I've about four projects I'd like to go cast on for right now...

(and no, I'm not kidding. You know me better than that!)

Current knitting obsession

Yeah, I've kinda just realised how long it's been since my last post. Not strictly that long ago from a time point of view, but in terms of what I've covered, there's a bit to catch up on.

Today, however, I'd mostly just like to drooool about Botany Lace. I may have been smacking people over the head with this (metaphorically, not literally. I wouldn't do that to the yarn) on Twitter and Ravelry, and maybe even Facebook, but I've neglected my readers here and only realised that today. And I feel really really bad about it. No honestly, I do. Really!

(Aw c'mon. I've been working really hard on that 'sincerity' thing. You can still tell when I'm faking it?)

Anyhoo. Botany Lace. If you haven't knit with it, you really should. Now. Life's too short.

Acquired kinda by accident (translation: impulse buy stemming from 'ooh, pretty colours!' outburst in LYS. Yes, I am that easy).

My first colourway, the one that started it all, was bought entirely because of its pretty pretty colourway. The yarn felt nice and all, but I was mostly buying it for the colours. They're my kind of colours...

And I knew exactly what it wanted to be (which normally doesn't happen until well after I've brought the impulse purchase home. And therefore it doesn't count as an increase in stash, as it was bought for a planned project. Shut up. My blog, my rules).

So as anyone who has met me may well know at this point, I tend to, urm, kinda, like, repeat my shawl patterns. A lot. I find one I like and I knit the crap out of it. I knit more than one. Sometimes way more than one. Examples would include Heartland Lace (3 times), and Holden (5 times). Oh yeah, and Swallowtail (also 5 times, though I've just cast on a sixth).

And then there's this one. Luna Moth (6 times. This would be my seventh. I know, I know, I need to diversify!). The colours of this skein just screamed Luna Moth at me. Well, they did for a while. Quite a few days, actually. Then they started whispering something about another pattern that would also look fab in this yarn, possibly (probably) even better than it had looked when I worked it the first time in, urm, a different yarn (which I also love. Though maybe not quite as obsessively). Fabulous and all as it had looked , this could be even nicer. More to my taste. Oh, that, and my five-year-old niece had procured it on her last visit (because it made her feel all swishy like a princess - how do you say no to that?) so I didn't even have it any more. Obviously, I would HAVE to knit a new one. And maybe even with this yarn.

But what about the Luna Moth I felt it was destined to be? Well, as chance would have it, I happened to be back in the exact same LYS shortly thereafter. (Yeah. It was entirely by chance. I dare you to prove otherwise). And lo, another exquisite colourway, calling my name, and begging to be transformed into a Prairie Rose (note that I had only knitted the one at this stage. And that it had been abducted. So I absolutely needed to make a new one).

So I bought that one...

...and promptly (very promptly, actually) turned it in to this..

Pretty, huh? Exactly what this yarn was supposed to be! Except that now I had a bigger problem. Having actually finally knit with the stuff, and then gone through the spectacular blocking process (it expands like you wouldn't believe. Seriously, it's like four or five times its original size. Hanky to blanky in twenty easy minutes), I was completely in love with a hell of a lot more than the colourways. This yarn is perfection.

(Yes, it turns out that I am that shallow. Pretty pretty pretty is enough to get my attention. However, I think it says something for my character that it's only when I get to know a yarn really really well that it turns into full-on obsession. Aherm).

So anyway, I had been perusing patterns (as one does), and had found a nice one that I thought would also look particularly good with this yarn. So as the first skein was pre-destined for another project, I needed to get me another. So back to LYS. Except when I got there, I couldn't decide. I wanted the pretty bright colours, but I knew deep down they'd look like crap on me. But I went to the till with it anyway. Then changed my mind and ran back to get the more suitable colour. Then dithered, and lurched from yarn-to-till-to-yarn (while melting head of staff - sorry Jacqui) for some time, before eventually going for the sensible (though obviously still beautiful) colourway...

...soooo pretty! Except now the colours had me thinking of other projects again... Heartland Lace, anyone? And I absolutely could not get the exquisite colours of the pretty pretty bright one out of my head. So what if the colours weren't flattering? It would still be fun to knit, right? And how often was I going to have it, like, wrapped around my face? It wasn't like I was thinking of a cowl or anything (okay, I kinda was, but I changed my mind. Fickle like that. You may have noticed).

So you all know where this is going. One week later...

They are pretty colours, aren't they?

(Yes Jacqui, you were right, you agreed with me, they're absolutely not the right colours for me, they will not do anything for me, the blue-grey will indeed be way more flattering. But this was an entirely selfless act, I have no problem sacrificing personal vanity for the sake of the pattern (anyone who has seen me in a home-made hat can attest to that). This colour is good for the pattern. It is in the best interests of the pattern. And from an entirely business point of view, I bought both skeins, so what harm?). ;o)

It was a wonderful moment, as I was so sure that the pretty colours would have found a new home by now, but no. They were waiting for me. The little brother who'd had his ass dragged into the shop with me did not seem to share my enthusiasm, but I was undeterred. We showed my new yarn a good time...

...though he was reluctant to let me pose it with his Guinness. Apparently he knew some of the people who were cracking up laughing at me and wondering what the hell I was doing. I have to share a house with this guy, so decided not to push it.

Oh, and that exact same night? I blocked this...

Destiny. It's perfection. Where a project turns out exactly as you want it to. Which almost never happens.

(Also, the first ever shawl I made where I didn't make a mistake that was only discovered either several rows later or after bind-off. Not a one. Or at least I haven't found it yet if I did).

But now I'm back at square one. All skeins have a plan. I have knit the Prairie Rose pattern twice. However,  I still don't have one in my possession, as I happened to have it with me when I acquired the pretty brightly coloured skein. It was unceremoniously ripped from my grasp (by a staff-member who shall remain nameless. You know who you are. Happy birthday tomorrow, by the way!) to be installed on a shop mannequin.

So I have no Prairie Rose. What to do, what to do...

I think we all know where this is heading...

Beginning to see a pattern...

So as a nice little treat to self after a rough week, today I aquired me a nice little bit of laceweight (yes, I know I'm supposed to be on a stashdown. Shut up).

Isn't it pretty? Nice Malabrigo baby silkpaca, and the colours are gorgeous. I'm not quite sure what I'm doing with it yet, but I do have ideas.

So I was very happy with myself, and came home all nice and happy and contented. New yarn to play with, and of course there was also the fun of photographing it and putting it up on my stash page. Which is what I was doing when I began to notice a pattern...

Hedgehog Fibres silk lace, purchased in June of last year. I has a plan. I just haven't knitted it yet.

Oh, and then there's this...

Angeljay's 100% merino. Purchased May 2009. Also with a plan. Also not knitted yet.

Anyone else starting to see a pattern? Or just me?

Productivity is overrated...

...at least that's what I'm telling myself today, been out of bed for hours and very little done! Well okay, I've made it as far as the shops (nothing like a brand spanking new copy of The Knitter being released to get my arse out the door), and even picked up the buttermilk required for the fresh brown bread I was kinda supposed to make on, urm, Sunday, so a step in the right direction I suppose. Kinda. Shut up.

Washing was hung out on the basis of what was REALLY wet (two items) versus everything that was in the bucket (about 15 items), as by my thinking, there'd be no point in hanging out almost-dry stuff when it could possibly rain on them when I'm not paying attention (which is most of the time), and what if I didn't get to them on time? I think radiators were invented for just this reason.

So in my ultimate quest for supreme procrastination, here's another blog post! Though fear not, there are actual items to be displayed today!

First up, items that had been mentioned in previous posts... the Miss Potter Mittens I mentioned in my last post have, finally, been finished. Pretty as always, the colourway of the yarn turned out as spectacularly as I hoped it would, and crappy-ass weather here means I might actually get a wear or two out of these before the Irish 'summer' hits...

Almost finished is the Lava Flow cowl I'd procured yarn for last month. This baby is just awaiting its ends being grafted, and then I'll have pictures for you, I promise.

The nightmare that was my Crazy Zauberball Jaywalkers was finally allowed to die a dignified death (well okay, that's a slight over-exaggeration. My five-year-old neice and I had great fun tearing it to shreds. Which felt DAMN good).

Don't get me wrong, this is a pretty, pretty yarn. However, the colour repeats are FAR too long for socks, you'd never get a matching pair knitting as is, and I was needing a brainless knit. I had been aiming for stripey zig-zag socks. Instead, I'd gotten a two-coloured body which didn't really showcase the zig-zag as I'd have liked. So they had to die.

Not in vain though, as of course the yarn was re-purposed (having been frogged, then wound, then re-wound several times for fun. My niece is fascinated by the ball-winder, thinks it's the best invention EVER, especially when I do it really really fast so it looks like all the colours are blurring together. She wants one. She wants to play with yarn. I'm going to save all variegated yarn for winding when she's here, so that I can sucker her in gently, and will keep the laceweight the hell out of her way in case it scares her off/makes her cry. I has a plan).

So what does self-striping sock-yarn get turned into here in Insanity Central?

Yup. I'm nothing if not predictable. Yet another Holden, but such a pretty, easy, effective little pattern that I just can't let it go. Slight panic on this one when I ran out of yarn 13 stitches from the end of the picot bind-off, (yes, I may have done an extra pattern repeat), but I rooted around in my (rather large) sock-yarn oddments bag and found an approprately-coloured scrap that finished it off just fine. No, not perfect. But neither is it noticeable. So fine by me!

I have another FO to showcase as well, but I'm thinking that'll take a whole other post, so I'll park that for the moment. On the needles at the mo is pretty much a lot of the stuff that I had on the needles in January, with one or two additions. One or two approaching completion, so again, stay tuned, more updates to come!

Dairbhre

Well, finally, I did me up a pattern! Yay! (yes, I know it's simple simple SIMPLE, but it's MINE, so I don't care).

The dreamy smooshiness that was the Debbie Bliss Paloma I procured some time back has been transformed into Dairbhre, a nice smooshy cowl...

As you know, the yarn was an impulse buy that I just could not resist (one of those yarns that you pick up in the shop and just want to smoosh your face into. I didn’t though. Honest. Well, not in the shop). It is squooshy and warm and light and dreamy. It had to be a cowl, as it feels like a wearable hug. Smooshy smooshy squooshiness! 

(Yes, I know, I need new words).

The colour I chose is one of my absolute favourites, and, with the slightly-less-than-solid appearance of this particular colourway, evoked beautifully the textures and shades of a mountain pass sweeping down to the sea on a beautiful clear-blue-skied summer’s day. And hence the name.

Dairbhre (pronounced Darv-re) is the ‘as Gaeilge’ name for an island down the neck of the woods that I would consider to be home. I recently, eventually, returned home for my first visit in many years, and it felt like I’d finally gotten my soul back. The weather, to be honest, kinda sucked (turns out that February is completely the wrong time of year if you’re looking for those clear-blue-skies kind of days), but it still brought back full force my feelings for the place, its spectacular, awe-inspiring beauty, and the grace of the big-ass ocean crashing around the island (that would be the Atlantic, for those not of a geography bent).

So this pattern, to me, evokes the colours of the ocean, the textures of the moss and heather of the mountains, and the finished article the same kind of snuggle-y security you can only get when you’re truly home! :o)

There's a link to the pattern on Ravelry here, but it's not quite there yet. For the moment, the only place you can get it is in This Is Knit. Go to shop, get the yarn, get pattern for free. (They also have the above knitted sample for you to man-handle and model, and will have it for the next few months).

After a time (as yet vague and ill-defined - but hey, that helps with the anticipation, right? RIGHT?) I will be uploading the pattern onto Ravelry, available free of charge to one and all.

It's a lovely quick, easy knit, and used pretty much every last bit of the two skeins...

That's a biro for scale, some itty bitty scraps, and the FO looking WAY darker than it does in real life because that was an indoor photo. Fear not about the small leftovers. Pattern is fully adjustable to your own gauge (i.e. "knit til you run out of yarn". Heh.).

I hope you like it...
:o)

ETA: Pattern can now be downloaded free from Ravelry. You're welcome! 

Two steps forward, many steps back...

Okay, I've been procrastinating on this post for a while, but with good reason.

Basically, I had some WIPs and an FO to show you, but I haven't been able to get decent photos of them yet, and I know that, spectacular wordsmith though I am, you're probably not really here for the words, right? It's the pictures, be honest!

My Debbie Bliss Paloma is all nicely knitted up (has been for a while, actually), and it is my intention to post a good picture. Which requires daylight. Which requires someone else being in the house (or at the very least out of bed) during daylight hours to take the picture. That, and it's a cowl, and I have a spectacular cluster of pimples on my chin. They're not even doing anything, they're just THERE, have been for over a week, and I can't figure a way of working around them. I've tried. Really.

(And no, half a stick of concealer doesn't work. I've tried that too).

Also, this is my first invented-from-scratch pattern. First ever. I've it written up (though it is insultingly simple), and just need to do it in PDF format to finish. Which involves the resident computer expert here at Insanity Central to at least be out of bed at some point during the day (as opposed to getting up an hour before I go to bed and staying up all night, then going back to bed half an hour before I get up. Damn his schedule. Damn insensitive of him!). Oh yeah, and I need a photo for that, too. See above. In the meantime, a teaser. This yarn was made for moss stitch...

...isn't it yummy? Don't you just want to smoosh your face in it? Yes you do. Yes you do!!

Anyway, as soon as I get the PDF thing and the photos sorted, I promise. Jaysus, it's going to be such an anti-climax after all this build-up! I loves it though. It's all mine!

So anyway, in other work... that yummy Malabrigo Silky Merino I got a couple of weeks back is on its way to becoming another pair of Miss Potters...

...yes, it's only one so far. No, I haven't done the thumb yet. Yes, I did the plain bind-off because I always set fire to the picots when lighting my cigarette, and then and only then remembered that I've quit smoking and picots will never again be that kind of nightmare for me! Early days with the smoking thing, old habits to be broken, so we shall see how things work out.

So a couple of steps forward - a whole project completed (check). Another one almost (well, 50% ish) completed (check). More yarn being knit up than you could shake a stick at (though I'm limiting it to shaking my knitting needles at - check). So we're making a good dent in the stash, yes?

Well, kinda. Not really. Dents would be more evident if I perhaps didn't keep filling them in with more stash. Though on the plus side, that's the end of happy happy store-credit for the moment, so unless the shop sells out of my stitchmarkers any time REAL SOON, I won't be acquiring anything new. I'll jsut have to knit from stash.

(Go buy stitchmarkers. Now. Fast. GO BUY STITCHMARKERS!!! Pleeeeeeease! Aw, don't make me beg. Please nicely?).

Aherm.

Anyway, acquisitions for this week included an extra two skeins of the fabulous Rialto Lace I got last time. It is truly beautiful, but the sheer yardage of it is starting to freak me out somewhat. 1558 metres. What the hell do I do with that? I has ideas, lots even, but it has basically come down to this - one big-ass lace project that'll impress the pants off everyone, or two smaller ones that I'm way more likely to finish (and have room to block!)? What do we think? I have ear-marked projects, I just can't decide. Big or small? One project or two? Huh? Huh?

The Rialto was yarn that had been set aside for me, so I was just going to collect it and leave (no, I didn't think I'd quite be able to pull that off either. And guess what?). Then I saw the sale bins, and it was kinda downhill from there...

These babies...

...are going to be mittens. I think. Plain mittens. Maybe with a cable on them. Or something.

Then this...

...oh it's so pretty! This is going to become another Lava Flow cowl. I've made one already (different yarn), it's a beautiful pattern. This time I'm making it with the recommended yarn, and on a smaller needle, and with two less repeats, so it's slightly stiffer and shorter and snugglier. I am truly in love with this yarn though, I can't believe it was in the SALE BIN!! Obviously I was meant to have it. Obviously.

This baby was right beside (okay, kinda close to) the till, so I nabbed him too, loved the colour...

...guess what he's going to be! Single ball of silky DK? Aw go on, guess! ;o)

Finally, I had been perusing patterns online, trying to decide whether or not I should put them on my (ever-expanding) queue, when I came across this one, the Burberry Cowl. Very nice. Understated. Sleek, shiny, elegant. Neutral tones. Needed a yarn that would knit on 6mm. I found a version. Well, my version...

Ha! Started it this morning, was done in a few hours. It just needs grafting, and then it'll be done. Okay, maybe a couple of plain rows first, as, while it fits beautifully around my neck, getting it over my head is going to be a whole other kind of fun. Trust me though, it's pretty. Absolutely NOT sleek, elegant, subtle, swish, understated. More, urm, gregarious, in-your-face, if you will. Proper pics tomorrow when it's properly finished.

(Interesting conversation with my brother on this one. Check out my project notes). 

So to summarise...

Good thing: I've knit 2.7km of yarn so far this year.
Bad thing: Given that I started with over 46km of yarn, that's not really much of a dent. Especially given then a quarter of the year is gone already.
Even worse thing: I've acquired a whole new 10km of yarn since mid-January. That's a 21.4% increase overall. Not good.

Another bad thing: little yarn piles and WIPs were starting to build up all over my (very small) room. It was looking less like yarn skeins, more like tribbles. Tribbles with needles. More every time I looked.
Good thing: I tidied it up today. A place for everything, everything in it's place.
Even better thing: While tidying, I found a Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut, a packet of Tayto Cheese & Onion, and a Snickers. Score! (Snickers has been bequeathed to the babby brother, on the condition that tomorrow he takes pictures and installs PDF Edit).
Really bad thing: I have come to the worrying conclusion that in my haste to clear the yarn and put as much as possible back up in the attic, I may have accidentally tossed my blood glucose monitor in the wrong bag. Oops. Coma in 3.. 2.. 1.. where did I leave that chocolate?
:o)

Ooh, an actual Finished Object!

Okay, so before the clock strikes midnight...

Lá fheile Pádraig shona dhiaibh go léir! Hope everyone had a great day, did not get annihilated by that big-ass hail/thunder storm that hit Dublin earlier (hey, there had to be some typical Irish weather in there somewhere, right? Wouldn't feel like a genuine Paddy's Day if the sun was shining!), that all little kiddies are worn out and asleep after a day at the parade, and that you, dear readers, are kicking back with your knitting needles and your beverage of choice!

So here at Insanity Central... not much to report, really, a fairly quiet day was had, not exactly according to plan, but quite pleasant nonetheless. For your viewing pleasure, I've another finished object:

Silk Garden Holden. Isn't it pretty? Finished on Thursday, blocked by Friday, it's also pretty big, too big for me to spread it out flat on my small bed and get a decent angle for a 'whole object' shot (teensy room, major levitation required), but this shot gives you a fair idea. A fair few extra repeats were worked to use up all the yarn, this pattern is great for that! Just keep on going!

Last week was fairly rain-free as well, which can only mean one thing...

...another cartoon character t-shirt!! And yes, I know they're not technically cartoon characters, but it falls into that general theme. :o)

So hopefully I'll have another post for you during the coming week that will illustrate just how much progress I'm making on my knitting (not holding your breath? No? Good, just checking), and hopefully a whole new FO that I'm currently working on. Almost done. The world's quickest knit, and entirely out of my head. And scrummy yarn...

...what could it be? Stay tuned. Toodles!
:o)

More stash. Oops.

Yes, having a real B. Spears moment here. But before I begin, allow me to qualify - it wasn't my fault. At all. Actually, I didn't even have a choice. Not really.

These sparkly pretties were dropped off to This Is Knit this morning:

as it turns out that all those nice silvery/black/grey ones I dropped off last week looked a little dull and morose in their container, all on their lonesome. Colour was needed to jazz things up a little, and fast.

For the more sophisticated knitter (or those with magpie tendencies), the new stock includes a limited number of these babies:

Trust me, this is not the best picture (actually, it's total crap), they're WAY nicer in person, without a camera flash blaring in their little faces. You're welcome.

Anyway, new stitch markers means new store credit, so the following acquisitions were, well, acquired:

Some Debbie Bliss Paloma, the colour of which I couldn't resist (if it's turquoise or purple, it's mine), and which will probably be turned into some sort of a cowl at some point. Hopefully before next winter.

Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk (fabulous sheen, fabulous colour - hello, purple!), which will become another pair of Miss Potters (the yarn I got last time to make new Miss Potters doesn't go with my other coat. Well okay, it kinda does, but I like my mittens to be coat-specific. And a girl can NEVER have too many pairs of these!).

And finally...

Rialto Lace. Yay! I've been eyeing up this yarn for a long long time (at least it seems like a long time), and today, it is finally mine! All mine! I will give it a wonderful home, and love it for all eternity. And someday, I might even knit something out of it. :o)

(Again, please excuse the crappy-ass photography. The sun went behind a cloud as I clicked, and I didn't cop it until I'd uploaded the pics here. By which time I'd put the yarn away. Feck it anyway, you get the jist).

So not a bad day of 'acquiring', huh? Obviously, the next several posts are going to be all about the physical knitting of these items, instead of being about, urm, getting new items. Honest. I promise. I'll do my bestest. Though given my track record, maybe I should hold back on the promises... ;o)

Startitis

So all those good stashdown/WIPdown intentions that were looking so wobbly on Friday night? Nosedived completely over this weekend.

Do not judge me, I am but a mere mortal (except when I'm invincible and kicking ass and stuff, but that doesn't happen so much these days) and all these yarns and projects are all purty and stuff and make me happy and warm and fluffy inside and on the outside too, or at least they would, if I ever actually finished knitting anything, and, and, and...

Anyhoo. Saturday was a long overdue visit to Rosemary & Co. at The Constant Knitter. Where, obviously, more stash was acquired. (Don't look at me like that, it would have been rude of me not to buy something. Stop it).

First up, a totally legitimate purchase, and technically it's not even stash, as it was purpose-bought for a shawl I've been asked to knit for someone, so doesn't count. At all. Ooh no.

Isn't it pretty? Fabulous greeny-bluey-turquoise colour combination, and a thoroughly reliable yarn. I've used it before on the same project that I intend knitting this into, and that came out pretty fabulous, so fingers crossed this one does too. I have six weeks (ish) to get it done. Heh!

Next up was sock yarn. Impossible to resist, as again I'd used it lots, and it's easily one of the best sock yarns I've ever worked with. Bought a single skein of the blue-green colourway when I first saw it in the shop in January, and made footies out of it. Was so in love with the colour and feel of it that I decided full-blown socks were called for. Which obviously necessitated a purchase of more of the yarn:

The orangey-red one I got because it was pretty. And it reminded me of tigers. And fire.So it'll basically give me really warm, possibly scowling feet.

Anyway, everyone knows that sock yarn isn't really stash yarn! These babies will be cast on and knit up so fast that they won't even have time to get comfortable. Y'know, once I get around to finishing the other socks I have on the go at the moment...

Yes, started in January. I got bored. This is a hobby, and supposed to be fun, there's no rule that says I have to finish everything I start. It's a bonus when it happens, but not a requirement! :o)
Which is just as well, considering I also have these babies on the go...

Yes, they've been going a while too, but I only knit them when I'm out and about, which I haven't been much at all recently.

Obviously then there was the fab 'on sale' yarn I acquired last week...

...which, following suggestions from my Twitter peeps (elvin, I'm looking at you!) was rapidly cast on to become this (so far)...

When it grows up, it'll be Summer Flies, with a mod to the edging.

(I know 'Summer Flies' is meant as like 'time flies', but is anyone else thinking feckin bluebottles and those nasty fecky little black buzzy yokes that wreck your head here all summer long when you read that title? Or is it just me?).

Then there was further nice Noro yarn that I had acquired on Friday, which was cast on that night...

...destined to become another Holden. (You know it's definitely Noro yarn, by the way, because there's a fluorescent lime green stripe coming up. Which seems to be in all their colourways. Stand-out hideous, yet somehow 'goes' with everything. I love it)!

And did I mention that I may also have cast on for this queued item? Only just started...

...more details to follow as I progress.

So yeah, tomorrow I think I'll go cast on some socks... :oD