Swallowtail in progress

Remember the yarn and beads in my previous post? Well they are well on thier way to becoming a swallowtail shawl. I have done 17 repeats of the budding lace chart. Only two more to go then I can start the border with the beads. I am very pleased with it and the Sophia is a dream to knit. I am heading on a lace kick now and have already seen other patterns I want to try. I am also going to buy Victorian Lace Today as i have heard lots of good things about it and it has just come out in paperback.

These are some armwarmers I made for Rhianna using Opal feelings yarn. They are lovely and bright but she says they are itchy so hasn't worn them yet. I am going to wash them a few times and hope they soften up a bit. I also started a scarf using the yarn I received in the friends of P swap. It was to fill in time while I was waiting for the Swallowtail knitalong to start. It has already got quite long and will be the perfect quick knit for hospital waiting rooms or when I don't have time to concentrate.

I am off to Wonderwool Wales this coming weekend and am just a little excited! June and I are heading off on Friday morning and visiting the Colinette factory shop and then going to Wonderwool on the Saturday. I can't wait to meet some of the people I have been talking to on Ravelry. I will be taking the camera so will update with loads of pictures when I get back.

Vinnie needs your help!

One of the ladies on the Friends of P group on Ravelry has been having a nightmare of a time with her new doggie Vinnie, he has been very poorly and had to have some very expensive treatment. The cost has been met by the rescue centre that Vinnie came from and KTMay is now holding a raffle to raise money for the rescue centre. There are some beautiful prizes of Woolmeise yarn and Piddleloop bags so check out the link and explode at the cuteness of Vinnie. Knoobie Knitter blog

Happy April

I can't believe its April already! This year is flying by. Thought I had best put a post up seeing as its been a month since the last one. I had a birthday and got some lovely pressies, best one was an i-pod so I have discovered the joy of podcasts. I have added links to my favourites at the side of the blog.
I finished my Blur jumper, I am really pleased with it. I made an effort to do the seams properly and they look fantastic. The Blur has washed well and is nice and warm to wear.










I am going to be making a Swallowtail shawl as part of a knitalong on the Posh group on ravelry. I am going to be using some Sophia 2ply in a beautiful green and adding beads in a pale green.









I will post pictures as I go but if you are on Ravelry then check out the others on the Posh group. We are going to start on April 15th, which is swallows day.

Mothers Day

Today is mothers day and I have had a jolly good one. I got the best pressie ever, a baby chameleon! His name is Chandler after the character in Friends and he is so cute.
I can't stop watching him in his vivarium, I love the way his eyes look in different directions and the strange way he walks, its fascinating.






I finished knitting Grans scarf at half five last night, she mentions my beaded scarf every time I visit so I made one for her as a Mothers Day gift and she was really surprised. Her reaction was worth the panic of thinking I wouldn't get it done in time.
I got a lovely picture of four generations, Gran, Mum, me and the girls. Its not often we are all together so I couldn't let the chance go by.
















Last night we went to a wedding reception that was held in some napoleonic tunnels, it was really nice, all lit with candles and very atmospheric. My only gripe was that it was a bit cold. The kids spent the whole evening running around the tunnels and loved every minute. The bride wore blue and looked gorgeous. At one point we were all told to go outside and there was a fantastic firework display. All in all it was quite an evening.
















Hope all you other Mums out there had a good day too.

Captain Jack

On Valentines day the girls and I went to Bluewater and queued for a book signing by John Barrowman, Captain Jack from Doctor Who and Torchwood. Well, actually I did most of the queuing while the girls went to the Disney Store and did some shopping. After two hours we got into Waterstones for our thirty seconds of book signing. He is just as gorgeous in real life as he is on the telly and was really friendly and chatty with the girls. It was the first book signing I have been to and I'm not sure I will do another one. Too many rules, don't ask for posed photos, don't ask him to sign anything other than the book etc. I know they are trying to get as many through as possible but we were rushed in and rushed out and in the end I only managed to get one decent photo so it was a little disappointing. The girls were impressed though and seemed pleased that they had seen him so it was worth it in the end.
I finished my other ribbed sock and I am so pleased with them, they fit nicely and the yarn is lovely. I have now started another Variation on a Frill for Gran as she really likes mine. I am doing it in Posh Yarn Emily, which is lush. I am going to try and get it finished for mothers day so need to knit fast. So far I have done the frill on one end and started the main body of the scarf, I will post photos once it is a bit longer.

Life and death.

Its been a strange sort of month, the usual January anticlimax after christmas and the girls birthdays, but for some reason I've found it harder to pull myself up this year. My friend Nessie had her baby, a little girl, which is fantastic news and I'm going to see her and have a cuddle tomorrow, I can't wait. On the flip side, one of the girls in the office downstairs was killed by a tree falling on her car a couple of weeks ago. She had a one month old baby, who was in the car with her at the time and was fortunately completely unhurt. She wasn't a friend as such, more someone I said hello to in the tea room every now and then but its really upset me. I am just so bloody angry that bad things seem to happen to nice people. That poor baby is never going to know his Mum now and theres not even anyone to blame, it was just a freak accident. Life isn't fair and I hate that.
On the knitting front I did actually finish one sock in January, here is E displaying it for me. I am aiming to finish its pair whilst I am on jury service for two weeks starting next Monday. I should have plenty of time sitting around and waiting, perfect for sock knitting.

A star!

Well, first post of the new year and its nearly halfway through January! Bad blogger!! Its been a bit hectic as we had both the girls birthdays so we have had a party, a sleepover, a shopping trip to Bluewater and a trip to the pantomime in the last couple of weeks. Fun but exhausting. I have however in amongst all that finished the star blanket for Nessies baby, now I just have to wait for Nessie to finish making the baby. He or she should be here soon. I am really pleased with it, it is by far the biggest thing I have ever crocheted and was nice to do.
I have joined a group on Ravelry to make a pair of socks each month for 2008. Yeah, like thats gonna happen! I did cast on for a ribbed pair for January but I have frogged them as I didn't like the yarn and pattern combination. So I am casting on again tonight for another pair. I am using Middle Earth Knitter yarn and the colours are fab, deep blue, green and purple. I will be happy if I finish one sock a month so I'll aim for that and see if I can reduce my sock yarn stash a bit. Please feel free to roll around laughing at this point, bearing in mind I have bought some lovely sock yarn from Posh Yarn and joined Middle Earth Knitters sock club again.