Evil heart

Instead of my usual wanting to start something new every week my crafting over the past month or so has been attempting to finished long abandoned projects.  The Cornrows bag, which was started in June last year (June the 24th to be precise), had been languishing in one of my many assorted ‘craft’ bags (read pink House of Fraser carriers) roughly around the time when the Noro skirt came into my life.  I had gotten about halfway through making the main body and the yarn was annoying me as it is rather splitty.  About three weeks ago I picked it up out of its hiding place and now I have an almost finished bag.  Its progress did not run smoothly.  Several times I had to unravel and redo and there is a mistake that I never noticed until I had almost completed it, so couldn’t be bothered to undo all that work.

Cornrows bag-sans handle

The handle was another situation in itself.  It is attached to the bag by D-rings. I had to cut several 4 metre lengths of yarn, which needed to be folded, cut in half, folded again, threaded through one of the rings and plaited, then threaded through the other rings.  First I cut the yarn too short, second time around they all ended up different lengths, none of which were the required length as the handle was too short once I’d plaited it-one ball of yarn wasted.  Third time was lucky as I made each strand longer than 4 metres, but once I’d plaited and started threading, I realised the plait was too bulky to fit through the rings easily so I had to undo it and get rid of a few strands.  Then I threaded it through wrong, so yet another stage had to be back tracked.  Now I have a whole load of messy ends to try and tidy up.  The lining isn’t going so well either, I’ve decided to crochet one as I do not have the sewing skills to make it out of fabric. I’ve chosen a cerise pink DK that pops very well next to the slightly washed out red.  I started it using double crochet and a 3 mm hook.  This wasn’t progressing fast enough for my liking so I’ve now switched to half trebles and a 4 mm hook.  And it’s still not growing much.

Next out of the craft bag (Thornton’s this time) was a lacy scarf I started sometime in summer last year in one of my ‘It’s sunny, I must go outside and knit’ moments.  Bar those few hours I hadn’t worked on it since.  Taking it along to my mother’s last week I remembered that I had grown impatient with the lace weight mohair and 4 mm needles whilst I was outside as it was a drop stitch pattern and I had to concentrate and make sure that I wasn’t accidentally dropping stitches or knitting into the loops of dropped yarn and creating extra stitches, which I did several times.  I have doubled the length of the scarf so far, now it’s about 6 inches in length…I think this one will take a while.

Lacy 'scarf'-all six inches

I’m also starting a long abandoned project that was only ever in the planning stage.  I had succumbed to the fuss and bought some pompom yarn early last year, which I’m pretty sure had intended to be my nemesis before I even bought it.  The hank came wrapped in a band recommending that the yarn been wound into a ball with assistance, basically daring me to prove that it could be done without help.  Sometimes it IS better to follow instructions….
And sometimes instructions prove no help-pompom yarn is one of the most hideous yarns I’ve had the displeasure to work with, for some apparent reason I just couldn’t get it to work.  The ball had lain underneath my bed since then, occasionally growling at me when I picked up some yarn that understood how to behave.  However, I found salvation in crochet magazine projects that use pompom yarn, but only on the surface of back loop double crochet.  Now I am making a heart shaped cushion which I will cover with the ball of evil.  This heart is my new nemesis.  I made a considerably smaller amigurumi heart brooch about two years ago and I thought I could do exactly the same thing, but bigger.  What I hadn’t considered was the additional shaping that creating the heart on a larger scale would entail.  Four hours of working and reworking on a supposedly lazy Sunday, writing and rewriting the pattern on an old water bill and all I have is something that resembles a homemade E cup bra.

All my careful workings...

...lead up to this, isn't it beautiful?!

On my needles/Love, hate, guilty pleasure

Just a quickie this time.  On my needles is a scarf in Araucania Aysen and I'm crocheting a bag with Drops Eskimo, due to be surrendered to the washing machine and hopefully felted to perfection (pictures due soon).

Musically, here are three tracks that are currently on my radar:

1. Love: Kanye West- All of The Lights.  Killer drum machine beat and a list of guests as long as your arm.  Rihanna is the obvious one, doing the bridge and chorus.  Elly Jackson (of La Roux) is also there but is almost drowned out by Alicia Keys.  On the male side Elton John tinkles the ivories and sings (can't hear him) and there's lots of others, mostly American guys, notably Charlie Wilson formally of The Gap Band.

2. Hate: The Wanted.  I couldn't remember what the song was called as I have just heard it on the radio but I knew that Gold/Golden features in the title.  However, after a quick peruse on their website I have found that it is called 'Gold Forever' and it is the official Red Nose Day single.  Bad choice. Whoever wrote this song should have given it to female vocalists because I find that hearing men describing themselves and their beloved as butterflies flying in the sky or some other such insipid, cliched phrase just wrong.

3. Guilty pleasure: JLS feat. Tinie Tempah- Eyes Wide Shut.  This song represents everything I hate about the current dancepoprandb that seems to be the norm right now but try as as I might I cannot hate it.

Another one bites the dust...

Yet again, another year is on the horizon, another year comes to a close.  I use this time to reflect on what I have achieved-this shall be short.  Craft-wise I have expanded my yarn collection somewhat, but some of it has gone towards making stuff.  Here are a few of my most important achievements:

1. Skirt.  The Noro skirt is actually finished!  The one and only garment (as in covering a significant amount of the body garment, I do not include hats) that I have actually completed!  It was a trial, I wanted to throw in the towel on numerous occasions but I persevered and I did it!  It has been worn twice-the first time no one noticed it as it was mostly covered by my coat.  This outing was merely a road test to ensure that I could wear this handmade thing and it wouldn't fail me by suddenly unseaming itself and falling in a multicoloured puddle on the floor.  The second wear was a blatant show off opportunity to one of my good friends who knits herself so I knew she would truly appreciate it's beauty.
2. Scarf.  The third scarf that I have made for someone who has actually asked for it and was willing to pay me.  What I regret about this scarf was that I never got the chance to photograph it properly as I gave it to the recipient the morning after I finished it and the weather decided to be rubbish and rainy so the natural light was atrocious.  I haven't seen it since I gave it away, admittedly I haven't seen the owner all that much but he told me that he has worn it but not often as he was worried he would snag it on something.  Mostly I was touched that he wanted to preserve it yet a significant part of me wanted to slap him in his face and say 'I did not spend all that time, knitting literally hundreds of stitches for you to come over all precious because you're scared the thing might show a bit of wear.  You don't see me behaving with such regard with the scarves that I wear, I am perfectly aware of the futility of trying to keep them as pristine as possible. The next time I see you it better be around your neck or else...'
3. Shawl.  Merely because it took over two months, instead of a week for the yarn to reach me.  The shop that I had ordered it from had a problem with their suppliers in Germany and the woman who I spoke to over the phone was very pleasant and honest and said she had no idea when it was due to arrive.  When it was finally posted through my door there were some money off vouchers inside the package so I was happy.  I started the shawl in October and have only finished it this week as I was distracted by other things.  And couldn't be bothered to wind the second skein needed.
4. Cushions.  My first attempt to make something more significant than a bow using Tunisian crochet.  The recipients were friends who had recently moved to London and uncannily they matched the colour scheme of their other furnishings without me ever seeing the place before I visited.
5. Mario mushroom.  Simply because it's one of the darned cutest things I have made.

In my online life I have joined Blogger, Twitter and Ravelry and have learned a lot, useful or otherwise.

What do I have to look forward to next year?  Off the top of my head, yet another four pound price increase by Network Express West Midlands on their Direct Debit bus fares, after the four pound increase in July, making an overall 21% rise in five months.  A trip to Paris, postponed from October.  Eating all the Christmas chocolates I received.  Drinking the delicious box of spiced redbush tea that my mother very kindly gave to me today-I have started early and just had a cup whilst typing this.  More yarn buying.  More making things-I have decided that I will try and make myself one garment a year, as a challenge to overcome the 'It's no longer sunshine and rainbows, I'm bored' barrier, a little tedium will do me no harm.  And hopefully selling what I make.

Tidying my room: Part 1-The top drawer

I have been off work this week.  One of the tasks that I had set myself was to tidy my room, as it hasn't had a decent clean for about a year.  I have had rudimentary 'can't find something so I'll have a little sort out so I can find it' moments but not a bin busting, broom sweeping episode that takes the whole afternoon because I get bored/tired so have a break every hour or so.

I haven't tidied my room.  I have been slightly lazy but my attention has also been taken by friends and crafting.  I am currently knitting a simple scarf in brioche stitch-yarn used is Lang Jawoll Magic, a lovely slightly fluffy sockweight yarn in purple, fuschia, green and peach. My 6 mm crochet hook is being used to create Kristin Omdahl's Alpaca Angel Shawl, but in a merino/silk blend DK yarn.  The Noro skirt is getting along well-the main body of the skirt is finished, the waistband knitted and I have been inventive and decided to add a few rows of garter stitch along the bottom to eliminate the natural curl of the stocking stitch panels, which involves me picking up around 700 stitches (300 so far).  I have also attempted to bake some ginger flapjacks but me being me I used a mix of coarse and medium oatmeal (instead of just medium) as I wanted some extra texture.  This resulted in the mix being too wet so I had to bake it for longer but I left it in for to long, ending up with flapbricks.  They are still edible, but jaw ache ensues after the first bite.

Back to the bedroom...it is still a mess.  Yesterday evening I decided to make a dent (more like a slight dimple) and attacked the top drawer of my chest of drawers.  This is the one that should contain socks and underwear and I had been having trouble trying to shut it, so the full box that has been in my room since I moved in had become an extension of the drawer and I used it to lay my tights on top.  My aim was to be able to fit everything into the drawer AND shut it so the salient part of the task was to remove everything that was neither socks or underwear.  I never realised that I had so much stuff that was neither socks or underwear in that drawer.  I can't remember everything but most of it went as thus:

1. A small box of matches-England's Glory.
2. 16 used batteries from my mp3 player and handheld sewing machine-5 AA, the rest AAA.  Varying brands, mostly cheapo.
3. The plastic case of a crochet hook.
4. A receipt for some earrings I bought almost three years ago from Claire's.
5. 2 clips used for sealing vacuum storage bags.
6. A tube of seed beads.
7. 2 bottles of home fragrance oil-one strawberry, one passionfruit.
8. A bottle of essential oil-peppermint
9. 2 bottles of nail varnish-one turquoise, one pale and neutral.
10. A mini bar of strawberry chocolate.
11. A spare button for a dress.
12. A packet of Simple face wipes (mostly used).
13. A packet of baby wipes (barely used).
14. A bottle of basecoat/nail hardener.
15. Old earrings that had discoloured.

Pretty impressive eh?!  I wonder what else I shall unearth on this journey...

More musical musings-here are a few songs that I am currently listening to, whether I like it or not:

1. Absolutely love: Miguel featuring J Cole,  'All I Want Is You'
2. Guilty pleasure: The Wanted, 'Heart Vacancy'
3. Hideous: Katy Perry, 'Firework'

Old habits die hard...but new ones may sometimes form

Let's get the bad news out of the way first...more yarn stash additions.  In this case, it's not so bad as the yarn that I have bought is destined to be knitted up in the near future AND given away, instead of being destined to live in my yarn box.  The woollen string in discussion is nine skeins of Rowan Silky Tweed, seven in a wonderful deep green-blue shade called Inky, flecked with olive, aqua and turquoise and the remainder in Flamenco, a warm brown in shades of sienna with oatmeal, orange, terracotta and varying grey flecks.  The colour and variation of the yarn, along with it's softness (a blend of lambswool and silk) and it's cheapness (reduced from £5.75 per skein to £3 per skein) meant that it was irresistible.  And masculine enough to please the recipients of my knitting, who are both male.


When considering what I knit I am of the accessory breed-hats, bags, scarves (many, many scarves!), mittens- things that are relatively small that I can easily improvise and not worry about size.  Okay, so hats and mittens do have to fit but at least I can try them on whilst creating them (if the hat is made top down).  But recently my attention has be turned to the world of garment knitting, a much more skillful task.  The few attempts I have made with garments have never resulted in a finished item, either I got bored and never finished knitting the pieces or I finished all the pieces but didn't sew them up as I find it the most tedious part of the process.  It is very rare that I see a knitted garment and think 'That's amazing, I MUST knit that', it's usually more along the lines of 'That's amazing, but I so can't be bothered to knit that'.  This perpetual line of thought was halted by my perusal of Noro Volume 26 and spotting the skirt that I have mentioned in my previous blog.  I am currently on the fifth panel and have almost ran out of yarn so progression has halted.  Knitting this hasn't gone completely smoothly, I followed the very obvious typo in the pattern and ended up with too many rows on the second panel, which I then had to correct on the third by doing fewer increases.  Overall this hasn't changed the shape of the skirt too much and I am very pleased with how it looks.

The Noro skirt

Yesterday I purchased a knitting magazine I had never seen before-Verena Knitting.  According to the cover it is 'Europe's top knit magazine', which has now been translated into English (albeit for the American market).  Never had I looked through a magazine and wanted to make so many items.  What I like about this magazine is that it looks at knitting with a fashion eye, but all of the pieces are completely wearable, bar one or two heinous eyesores.  These are the pieces that I definitely want to make:

Isolde-shift dress with pleat, welt and cable detail

Fritza-shadow knit tunic

Temple-button up vest with rib panelling and asymmetric lapels

Sorbet-simple wrap cardigan with garter stitch bands

I think my favourite design in the magazine is the Jeanne jacket.  Sadly my knitting skills (and patience) are not quite up to the level needed to create this stunning piece, which perfectly balances sharp tailoring with looser, more relaxed styling.  One side has a kimono style sleeve and structured lapel collar, with the hem of the jacket stopping just below the waist whereas the other side falls to the widest part of the hip, with a shawl collar and straight sleeve.

I also found inspiration within garments that I would not knit as whole pieces.  The Toffee jacket showcases a beautiful cable detail that I would love to make into a scarf using a chunky yarn.

 I have already decided to use up some of my stash yarn and create a cowl in the style of the collar from one of the jumpers.  This looks like it's going to be a new era for my knitting...

I lied...

Yet more yarn has made it's way into my soon overflowing stash, due to visits to yarn shops I have never been to before:

1. Withit Witch (Halesowen)-Four balls of Lana Grossa Luxor, a shimmery nylon webby yarn with a merino core.  Soft and luxurious looking (guess that inspired the name).  My excuse for buying it was that is was on sale as it was discontinued. 

2. Foxhill (Four Oaks)-Two skeins of Arucania Aysen (my excuse-it was pretty and purply) and four balls of Noro Silk Garden Sock (I was taken by the skirt in Noro Volume 26, knitted in Kureyon Sock.  Unfortunately there was no Kureyon in stock, but Silk Garden was available).  The first panel is currently on my knitting needles.

The fabulous Noro skirt

Kicked to the kerb in favour of the skirt was the Cornrows bag I was in the process of making, using Rowan All Seasons Cotton (again a sale bargain).

Luckily for me I have a new focus for my disposable income.  In October I am going to Paris for five days and looking at the cost of hotels it is going to be an expensive five days! No more yarn buying for the immediate future (except for the Mini Mochi that I intend to buy because someone has requested a scarf).

On a totally unrelated note I have a four word review of songs that I am currently hearing on the radio:

1.Neyo-Beautiful Monster: No beauty, just monstrous
2.Yolanda Be Cool-We No Speak Americano: Fifties sampling cheeky house
3.Anything where David Guetta is the producer: Don't wanna hear it

£369.25 in 14 days (excluding other monthly expenses)

I have spent far too much over the past two weeks.  Luckily most of it was unusual purchases that shall not dent my finances again (or for a while at the very least) but some of it was complete frivolousness that truly warrants me a harsh slap on my debit card carrying mitt.  I went to London on the 27th May to see the incredible Hindi Zahra sing at the Jazz Cafe.  Her debut album 'Handmade' is a short but sweet affair showing her variety in tone, moving from big and soulful to delicate folksiness to traditional North African along with her musical blending of jazz/folk/blues/North African/Mediterranean .  Seeing her live made me realise that her album doesn't do her justice-behind a microphone in front of you her voice is bigger, better and the addition of a live band who moved the music into the realms of rock, reggae and afrobeat, in addition to those in the album made it the most enjoyable gig that I have been to.
Before my musical evening I decided to visit Loop, a yarn shop in Islington which I knew sold luxury yarns.  I had intended to go there to buy a skein of 'Magic Ball', a yarn produced by an American company Be Sweet.  Each one is a texture fest-100 metres of mohair, bobbles, loopy boucle and ribbon that is hand dyed and painted.  And costs £24 per 50g.  I figured that wasn't much to pay as one would make a scarf, plus if I considered it to be a birthday treat it wasn't that much.  What I hadn't bargained for was all the other stuff that would catch my magpie eyes.  With there being a lack of yarn shops in Birmingham any time I visit one that has yarns that I cannot obtain unless I get them online I always spend far too much.  Which wasn't hard given the cost of most of the stock in Loop.  For weight, that skein of Magic Ball is the most expensive yarn I have bought.  For cost per item, it was superseded  by the skein of Tilli Tomas 'Disco Lights' that found it's way into my hands, an aran weight 100% silk yarn with a running thread of mini pailette sequins. This shiny, wine coloured little beauty knocked my bank balance down by £28.  I regained the most meagre of slices of financial sensibility by also purchasing 3 balls of cotton yarns (Rico Essentials DK and BC Garn Allino) which in total cost £11.50.  I was thrown a 'freebie'-a cotton bag to stow my purchases in, with the Loop logo in bright pink on it to make people fully aware that my label whoring tendencies only extend to yarn shops (cue flashback to two years previous in Edinburgh in similar situation and returning with similar cotton bag with k1yarns knitting boutique printed on front).
If that wasn't enough yarn buying I took a trip to John Lewis the next day before I had to catch my train back to Birmingham.  This time I did restrain myself, only spending £15 on four balls of Gedifra Amara, a shiny cotton/polyamide that is going to be made into a summer bag.  As per usual, I am sort of winging it with the design, making strips of Tunisian crochet in two colours which I will join with surface crochet.  I like the optical blending that happens when you use the two colour technique, yet when you look closely each colour becomes distinct.

The beginnings of the bag

The rest of my money had been spent entertaining friends.  It was the first time that I had people over to stay so there was a distinct lack of sleeping stuff in the house (bar those that grace my own bed and my brother's).  Thanks to eBay I am now the proud owner of two inflatable mattresses (each with it's own in-built pump) and I also have 4 extra pillows, 2 fitted sheets and 2 blankets (courtesy of Primark).  All of these items now need to be vacuum packed into storage bags before they take over my wardrobe.  The best thing about having friends over was that it gave me a chance to cook for people.  I'm quite lazy with regards to my own food habits so I wanted to make something from scratch.   For our lunch I made a Chinese chicken soup (I used stock cubes as I did not have the time to be boiling chicken scraps) and baked a rather tasty peanut butter pudding, which was accompanied by a toffee sauce.  Both dishes turned out far better than I expected so I'm definitely going to make them again.